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Today, "Le Silence et La Anger" by Pierre Lemaitre published on January 10, 2023 by Éditions Calmann-Lévy.
Marceline Bodier, bookstagramer and contributor to the 20 Minutes Books reading group, recommends "Le Silence et La Colère" by Pierre Lemaitre, published on January 10, 2023 by Éditions Calmann-Lévy.
His favorite quote:
Not everyone was sure they had attended the same game.
Why this book?
Because it is the novel of anger:
that which accompanied the economic changes of the glorious thirty.
Social conflicts involving an odious employers who denounce the "communist gangrene", lost struggles of the inhabitants of the small village of Chevrigny against the administration which dislodges them without qualms - but not without bureaucratic speech - to build a dam... all accompanied by the development of the Evening Journal, which does not hesitate to manipulate public opinion.
Do you believe that the 21st century has invented all the turpitudes?
Face those of 1952!
Because it is also the novel of silences, and what silences:
those that cement the monstrous couple of Jean, serial killer always saved by the bell, and Geneviève, who makes us tremble for her 3-year-old daughter... or even those who allow women to abort clandestinely and in fear.
All this provides the springs of an excellent thriller and even a thriller.
The book becomes a real page-turner that we devour very quickly, unlike Balzac or Zola, with whom he competes to paint his century: advantage Pierre Lemaitre!
Because there is a lot of talk about “events”
(“Hélène didn't know how to call that”), understand abortions (and yes, of course, the tribute to Annie Ernaux is duly paid).
However, it is in the hunt for abortions that the horrors of Vichy survive, whose zealous officials have not all disappeared and continue to use the archives of denunciations and the methods inherited from the occupation.
Abject, even if we are afraid that it is still below the reality experienced by generations of women...
Because History à la Pierre Lemaitre
is also that of the female condition: he explores the questions of abortion, but also of sexual freedom and the place of women in the world of work (in the struggles unions, women are more at risk than men).
But the author does not hesitate to make women anti-heroines as well: Geneviève plays the shrew to the point of caricature, and Hélène, despite being modern, does nothing with her anger towards her editor who manipulates her.
Neither complacency nor Manichaeism: you have been warned!
Because Pierre Lemaitre is just as comfortable
with relationships of influence (Geneviève and Jean), manipulation (Destousches and the whole village of Chevrigny), as jealousy (Louis, Angèle and Jef).
As for boxing, it's very simple: it "is as psychological as it is physical".
If you have ever enjoyed analyzing the fight between Mohamed Ali and Georges Foreman, discover the adventures of Lucien Rozier!
In short:
The Silence and Anger
is a historical, social and political novel, but if we can also adhere to it, it is thanks to its psychological finesse.
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
The novel takes place in 1952: the thirty glorious years have begun.
We read it in 2023: we know well what social struggles and what exhaustion of the planet this "glory" was paid for... and it is this counter-story that Pierre Lemaitre tells through his Pelletier family.
Characters.
Fortunately, the Pelletiers are not the Atrides: we are entitled to hope that some will survive the two volumes that are still awaiting us.
But with Geneviève and Jean among them, nothing is less certain… especially since after Colette, Geneviève gives birth to Philippe.
We are already shaking!
Places.
Paris, Beirut… and Chevrigny.
Yes, a village two hours from the capital, about to be buried under water to build a dam.
OK, it doesn't exist.
But the same cannot be said for the trauma of what the thirty glorious years have accomplished in the name of progress...
The time.
Rural areas exploited in the name of economic objectives that lead to ecological disasters, women who have no control over their bodies... if Pierre Lemaitre did not cite numerous documents, one could almost believe that he projected the faults of our time on 1952. Alas…
The author.
Introduce Pierre Lemaitre?
Lets go.
Instead, let him do the talking: “my project consists of 'leafing through' the century like a family album”.
This album and this family are ours… Silence and Anger is the fifth novel in a series of ten.
We can't wait to read more!
This book was read with
jubilation.
"You can't stop progress," Cristin continued.
All you can hope for is that the damage falls on your neighbor's head and not on yours": what a joy to live in the time of an author who shows us our failings by placing them in the breath of the story !
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