Scarce paperback edition of lesbian autobiography set in Paris. From back "As owner of the elegently notorious club Katmandou of Paris, Elula Perrin reigns over the night life of the world's most glamprous lesbians. It is her life ... and her world. Though convent-bred and once married, she had been a lesbian since 'Casablanca one afternoon in a cheap hotel room.'"
Born in Hanoi, Perrin moved to France in 1946. There she obtained a degree in Law, married and moved to Morocco with her husband.
Whilst in Morocco she realised that she was lesbian. After this discovery, she moved back to France where, in 1969, she opened the 'Katmandou', a successful lesbian club.
In 1977 she published her critically acclaimed autobiography, 'Les Femmes preferent les Femmes'.
Problématique c’est le seul mot qui me vienne en tête. Je m’attendais à un récit féministe dans ce roman autobiographique et ce n’était pas du tout le cas. Eulalie reproche aux hommes des paroles et actions qu’elle a reproduit elle-même avec ses nombreuses compagnes. Ce récit fait l’apologie du colonialisme, décrit des actes de violence physique et psychologique qu’elle a infligé à d’autres. Bref… ce n’était pas du tout ce que j’avais imaginé.
Honestly very entertaining to read. The storytelling is often messy and I got lost quite a few times, and a lot of her opinions are considered very problematic today, but considering this was written in the 70s it could’ve been worse. I also found that oftentimes she might voice an opinion completely contradictory to her belief a few chapters back. I really enjoyed getting to learn about the real-life lesbian scene decades before I was born, it made me feel a sweet kind of way. I love the way Elula Perrin talks about women and how impulsive and passionate she seemed to be. I really wish I could have a conversation with her, and hear even more about her life and feelings.
Realmente no sé muy bien como puntuar este libro....
5/5 por lo transgresor del momento pero al leerlo actualmente hay que pasar por alto demasiadas cosas.....
Es diferente de lo que me esperaba, un poco como un diario personal centrado en las conquistas sexuales (?), en lugar de las reflexiones sobre la vida. Un poco como versión de una lista de exparejas en una aplicación de notas del móvil versión libro 😅
While I appreciate Elula’s effort to share her story and I found it quite fascinating she also carries a lot of problematic and frankly transphobic sentiments that rubbed me the wrong way while I was reading this. Given it was written in the 70’s I guess that’s to be expected sadly.