Favorite readings are something to share.
Our community recommends a new book every day.
Today, "La vie clandestine" by Monica Sabolo published on August 18, 2022 by Éditions Gallimard.
Christian Dorsan, author, blogger and contributor to the 20 Minutes Books reading group, recommends
The Clandestine Life
of Monica Sabolo, published on August 18, 2022 by Éditions Gallimard.
His favorite quote:
Clandestinity is not as romantic as one might think: one imagines a hectic life, far from the city and institutions, a wild place that one would inhabit like a wood, as do lovers, druids and the poets.
In reality, it is not the experience of freedom but that of hindrance.
Why this book?
Because diving back into contemporary history
is a way of situating oneself in time and reconnecting with one's childhood.
It was while looking for a subject for a book that the novelist became interested in Action Directe, which made the headlines in 1986 with the murder of George Besse.
For this, she goes to meet the protagonists, mixing private life and news, establishing an intense and intimate dialogue between what the History of this period retains and her personal story.
Because this book is a double investigation,
that of course on the small group of activists and also on the author's own childhood.
The common point ?
Clandestine, that of the group who wants to escape the police by merging into a new identity, that of the narrator who has buried memories, unknowingly creating another identity for herself.
Because the life of the narrator is a real novel in
which the father holds a central place: member of the International Labor Office, then a dubious businessman, he too will end up in semi-clandestinity to flee his creditors.
Who hides behind this secret man for his family and affable with his interlocutors, the reader tries to unravel this mystery according to the more or less precise memories of the author.
Because there are moments of wavering with hesitations,
imprecisions, which give a fragile and deep consistency to the writing.
Little by little, the veil is torn as if, by investigating the motivations for the assassination of George Besse, the author discovered the dark side of her childhood.
Forgiveness comes as a deliverance, grief is not a question for her, and regret, as for the members of Action Directe, would only serve to pervert what has been.
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
A novelist in search of inspiration, decides to investigate the Action Directe years.
This investigation gradually turns into a personal quest.
Characters.
The narrator, her father Yves S., her brother and mother, members of Action Directe, Hellyette Bess anarchist bookseller, George Besse murdered in November 1986.
Places.
Paris, Geneva, the southwest.
The time.
Current with many back and forth in the years 1970-1980, particularly, November 1986 with the assassination of George Besse.
The author.
Monica Sabolo is a journalist and novelist.
An animal rights activist, she worked for the WWF before joining several magazine editorial offices.
She received the Prix de Flore in 2013 for
All This Has Nothing To Do With Me
.
This book was read with
curiosity because what is the common point between a novelist from the beautiful neighborhoods and a group of terrorists?
Clandestine: self-dissimilation to protect oneself by creating a temporary identity for some, a safeguard for the narrator.
An exciting book.
BUY ON AMAZON
Do you want to recommend a book that you particularly liked? Join our community by clicking
here
20 Minutes of Context
Some of the links in this article are sponsored.
Every time you buy a book through one of them, we get a commission that helps us pay our bills.
To avoid any conflict of interest, we have adopted the following method:
1. The contributors to the section choose their books, produce their files and their reviews independently, without worrying about any links that will be added.
2. The links are added afterwards, each time we find the recommended product on one of our partner platforms.
Thanks in advance to anyone who clicks!
Book sheet 20 Minutes
Books
Novel
Literary back to school