Adele

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Some readers perhaps will see there hidden, erotic fantasies of the author though I don’t read it that way. Adele probably sounds like it might be a titillating book (in a vicariously pleasurable, morally backward way) but the sex is actually really unerotic; just ugly and sad while still being uncomfortably graphic.

She invents quotes from high-up anonymous sources: “a figure close to the government,” “a well-placed observer who asked to remain nameless. With this book she has managed to build a morose, tension-filled masterpiece filled with nuances that add incredible depth to an already deep subject.Adèle hat alles: den vorzeigbaren Arzt-Ehemann und niedlich-Sohn, den Job bei der Tageszeitung, die schicke Wohnung in Paris. Known for her poise, beauty, sophistication and caution, Dora is ready to finally hang up her heels for good when she is requested to accompany a loyal client on one last venture. When I finished it, I was left with the difficult problem of understanding why I had liked it so much, when I was so unmoved by Jill Alexander Essbaum's Hausfrau, a book with a very similar plot and set-up, but in Zurich instead of Paris. In observing Adele and John, they pose to the couple an unusual challenge that seeks to address the core problems in their marriage.

But her subsequent confessionals about surviving infidelity, divorce and family life resonated considerably more widely and won her fans aorund the world. Uma mulher que procura o conflito, consigo e com o mundo, que quebra todas as regras para se auto-destruir e procurar, esperando ferramentas que lhe cheguem de fora, uma reconstrução, algo que a parta e a volte a unir de outra forma, una. Though there are intriguing hints of North African awareness in here – the story takes place against the background of the Tunisian Revolution, and Adèle's father, Kader, is (we can infer) from the region. Adèle wants to be free, but freedom and sex against societal conventions are not the same thing - our protagonist is in fact miserable.

These and other details suggest that Dans le jardin de l'ogre may have more autobiographical resonance than is first apparent. Ok, she’s an addict so that explains the compulsions and lack of satisfaction but it would have been appreciated if we had had a glimpse into what caused her to act this way. A quick read but an exhilarating one written in pared back prose: transgressive, subversive, likely to divide readers, and yes, enigmatic and provocative rather than transparent. In both cases, the rapid descents feel just about credible enough to tell us something about the form of vertigo Kundera defined.

She rides the turbulent waves of the 1960s and early ’70s with reckless courage, buoyed by her careening high spirits and an almost mystic faith in poetry, music and the love of other girls. Disclosure: some external links in the post are affiliate links, if you purchase through these links, it won’t cost you anything extra. Here there’s the question of whether Adèle will allow her addiction to take over her life, destroying her love for her son. Her life is deeply unfulfilling; her husband, who seems to love her, is a stultifying presence, parenthood is a weight around her neck, and her own mother has clearly been a lifelong source of vicious emotional blackmail. All of these addictions could be considered self-destructive and they can all come with judgment from others.A Moroccan man that has lived in Rome long enough to believe he is Italian, with a Moroccan dust left in his soul.

When she is forced to give up the desires for mere days, she becomes so depressed that she’s almost catatonic. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer View image in fullscreen Leïla Slimani: ‘little concerned with reader-pleasing narrative treats’. Her existence is palatable only through the string of male desire that she inspires - is it possible for someone to be this void? I understood her addiction well enough, but found Adèle as a person so blank I could neither sympathise with nor despise her.This is today's Book of the day in The Guardian – the article misunderstands the novel in crucial ways, I think, but the set-up is pretty well captured: ‘What if you immured yourself in an utterly respectable life and then tried to fuck your way out of it? Slimani choses not to give a neat and coherent explanation for Adèle's decisions, she is not excused or even portrayed as particularly likeable. And here Kundera’s novel – of which the meditations on body and soul apparently have been of some influence on Slimani- could come into the picture again - ‘When we ignore the body, we are more easily victimized by it.