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Le jardin d'acclimatation
« C’est l’histoire d’un homme jeune qui doit souffler ses quarante bougies. Il ne peut pas le faire. Il ne sait même plus souffler devant lui. »Pour Bertrand Prouillan la vie s’est figée un certain 9 juillet, jour de ses vingt ans, au retour d’un séjour à Barcelone où son père a fait pratiquer sur lui une lobotomie. Ainsi Henri Prouillan a-t-il pu, sans crainte de scandale, accéder pendant dix-sept mois à la fonction de Ministre dans le gouvernement du moment.Vingt ans plus tard, la famille a éclaté, chacun a fait sa vie en tentant d’oublier son rôle dans le drame. Mais, en ce jour anniversaire, l’heure des comptes avec le Père aurait-elle enfin sonné ?Couronné par le prix Goncourt en 1980, "Le jardin d’acclimatation" est sans conteste l’une des œuvres majeures de la littérature française du XXe siècle.
375 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1980
7 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Yves Navarre
49 books9 followersYves Navarre (September 24, 1940 – January 24, 1994) was a French writer. A gay man, most of his work concerned homosexuality and associated issues, such as AIDS. In his romantic works, Navarre was noted for his tendency to emphasize sensuality and "the mystical qualities of love" rather than sexuality or sensationalism. He was awarded the 1980 Prix Goncourt for his novel Le Jardin d'acclimatation.
He studied Spanish, English, and French literature at the University of Lille, earning degrees in 1961 and 1964. The following year, he studied at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord. He then worked for an ad agency as a creative writer.
He began submitting works to publishers in 1958, although it was not until 1971 that his first novel, Lady Black, was published. This was followed in 1973 by Les Loukoums, which tells the story of a malady afflicting a group of New Yorkers. A string of novels followed, often – as in Le Petit Galopin de nos corps, 1977 and Portrait de Julien devant la fenêtre, 1979 – about love affairs between two male characters. He also wrote works of drama, such as Il pleut : si on tuait papa-maman, La Guerre des piscines, and Les Dernières clientes.
For Le Jardin d'acclimatation, the story of a young well-born man imprisoned and lobotomized for his homosexuality, Navarre was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1980. He became François Mitterrand's main advocate in the gay community during the 1981 and 1988 elections, although as a novelist and not a politician, he felt misunderstood and ineffective in the role.
In 1984, Navarre suffered a stroke. He did not publish any more works until 1986.
Between 1990 and 1993 he lived in Montreal, Quebec. His 1992 novel Ce sont amis que vent emporte tells the story of a sculptor, Roch, in a relationship with a dancer, David. The novel recounts their struggle against AIDS. After his return to France, he developed depression and committed suicide with barbiturates on January 24, 1994.
For a particularly moving obituary, please see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peo...
He studied Spanish, English, and French literature at the University of Lille, earning degrees in 1961 and 1964. The following year, he studied at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord. He then worked for an ad agency as a creative writer.
He began submitting works to publishers in 1958, although it was not until 1971 that his first novel, Lady Black, was published. This was followed in 1973 by Les Loukoums, which tells the story of a malady afflicting a group of New Yorkers. A string of novels followed, often – as in Le Petit Galopin de nos corps, 1977 and Portrait de Julien devant la fenêtre, 1979 – about love affairs between two male characters. He also wrote works of drama, such as Il pleut : si on tuait papa-maman, La Guerre des piscines, and Les Dernières clientes.
For Le Jardin d'acclimatation, the story of a young well-born man imprisoned and lobotomized for his homosexuality, Navarre was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1980. He became François Mitterrand's main advocate in the gay community during the 1981 and 1988 elections, although as a novelist and not a politician, he felt misunderstood and ineffective in the role.
In 1984, Navarre suffered a stroke. He did not publish any more works until 1986.
Between 1990 and 1993 he lived in Montreal, Quebec. His 1992 novel Ce sont amis que vent emporte tells the story of a sculptor, Roch, in a relationship with a dancer, David. The novel recounts their struggle against AIDS. After his return to France, he developed depression and committed suicide with barbiturates on January 24, 1994.
For a particularly moving obituary, please see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peo...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 25, 2022
A French Tragedy that’s a pretty grim tale.
Cronus was the Greek god who ate his children. This Cronus is a tyrannical Parisian father who destroys his four children (three boys and a girl), his wife, his housekeeper and several dogs. He discovers one of his sons is gay and his reaction drives the plot of the book.
MAJOR SPOILERS HIDDEN BUT MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW
The patriarch is a retired French government minister, a narcissist, important in his own mind. When he realizes one of his four children is gay
The gay son, about twenty years old, also suffers from migraines. The father and oldest brother, cook up a scheme which, in the despair after his lover’s death, the gay son agrees to. He is sent to Barcelona for an operation that will “cure his headaches and depression. ”
None of the other three children ever got over the loss of their brother who had been the social glue of the family and the only one to ever stand up to the despotic father.
As the father approaches old age, the three adult children all struggle to find their way in life.
The loss of their brother and his wit destroyed the family.
The author, who was gay (1940-1994), wrote about 30 novels, almost all with gay themes or dealing with AIDS. Only about a half-dozen appear to have been translated into English. This novel won Frances’s Prix Goncourt prize in 1980.
Photo of the author from communitystories.ca
Cronus was the Greek god who ate his children. This Cronus is a tyrannical Parisian father who destroys his four children (three boys and a girl), his wife, his housekeeper and several dogs. He discovers one of his sons is gay and his reaction drives the plot of the book.
MAJOR SPOILERS HIDDEN BUT MINOR SPOILERS FOLLOW
The patriarch is a retired French government minister, a narcissist, important in his own mind. When he realizes one of his four children is gay
The gay son, about twenty years old, also suffers from migraines. The father and oldest brother, cook up a scheme which, in the despair after his lover’s death, the gay son agrees to. He is sent to Barcelona for an operation that will “cure his headaches and depression. ”
None of the other three children ever got over the loss of their brother who had been the social glue of the family and the only one to ever stand up to the despotic father.
As the father approaches old age, the three adult children all struggle to find their way in life.
The loss of their brother and his wit destroyed the family.
The author, who was gay (1940-1994), wrote about 30 novels, almost all with gay themes or dealing with AIDS. Only about a half-dozen appear to have been translated into English. This novel won Frances’s Prix Goncourt prize in 1980.
Photo of the author from communitystories.ca
November 21, 2016
Le jardin d'acclimation is easily one of those novels that would earn a single star with the criticism, "Why did everyone like this so much? Nothing happens and the main character is such a nasty person." On the other hand, if you do not require plot or thrills, you might find it, as I did, a thoroughly devasting and brutal portrait of an upper class French family in the Paris of the 1970s.
I say the Paris of the 1970s, but in reality the novel takes place over five different locations: the family home in the 17th arrondisement of Paris; a house outside Sauveterre, a commune in the south of France; a ship berthed in Overfjellet, a fjord 300 km north from Oslo; a house in Moncrabeau, a commune close to the border with Spain; and a holiday home in Exoudun, a commune in the west of France. In each location, we find a surviving member of the Proullian family, each struggling with their thoughts on one night, the fortieth birthday of the youngest son, Bertrand, and the twentieth anniversary of the day he returned from his surgery in Spain. That surgery shattered the already dysfunctional family into its separate parts, each of whom we get to know through the course of the novel.
The surgery that so shattered the family was a lobotomy, arranged by the father, Henri, who found his youngest son's gayness an inconvenience to his ambitions. While Bertrand was the most obviously and visibly damaged, we gradually realise that each of the children, Luc, Claire, and Sébastian, have all been damaged in their own way by their cold, loveless and controlling father who regards them as little more than pawns and accessories in his life. They may not have been physically lobotomised, but spiritually and emotionally they have been.
This is a picture that builds in a slowly gathering emotional crescendo of "non-events" as the night passes and we gradually build up a picture of their lives and emotional amputation, each fleeing but ultimately never ever escaping their heritage. The jardin d'acclimatation of the title is a children's amusement park outside Paris, a park that the four children once went to on their own in their childhood and possibly the one and only time they were happy and together. By the time we revisit this visit to the park, we can see how the innocents they were have been destroyed by their father.
Note: I'm appalled that it took this novel for me to find out that they used to "cure" gay people by lobotomizing them. I cannot imagine why any parent would so willingly maim their child in what I can only regard as an act of pure evil.
I say the Paris of the 1970s, but in reality the novel takes place over five different locations: the family home in the 17th arrondisement of Paris; a house outside Sauveterre, a commune in the south of France; a ship berthed in Overfjellet, a fjord 300 km north from Oslo; a house in Moncrabeau, a commune close to the border with Spain; and a holiday home in Exoudun, a commune in the west of France. In each location, we find a surviving member of the Proullian family, each struggling with their thoughts on one night, the fortieth birthday of the youngest son, Bertrand, and the twentieth anniversary of the day he returned from his surgery in Spain. That surgery shattered the already dysfunctional family into its separate parts, each of whom we get to know through the course of the novel.
The surgery that so shattered the family was a lobotomy, arranged by the father, Henri, who found his youngest son's gayness an inconvenience to his ambitions. While Bertrand was the most obviously and visibly damaged, we gradually realise that each of the children, Luc, Claire, and Sébastian, have all been damaged in their own way by their cold, loveless and controlling father who regards them as little more than pawns and accessories in his life. They may not have been physically lobotomised, but spiritually and emotionally they have been.
This is a picture that builds in a slowly gathering emotional crescendo of "non-events" as the night passes and we gradually build up a picture of their lives and emotional amputation, each fleeing but ultimately never ever escaping their heritage. The jardin d'acclimatation of the title is a children's amusement park outside Paris, a park that the four children once went to on their own in their childhood and possibly the one and only time they were happy and together. By the time we revisit this visit to the park, we can see how the innocents they were have been destroyed by their father.
Note: I'm appalled that it took this novel for me to find out that they used to "cure" gay people by lobotomizing them. I cannot imagine why any parent would so willingly maim their child in what I can only regard as an act of pure evil.
April 7, 2023
je rêve d'avoir la concision, l'intelligence et la pertinence de cet homme. mention spéciale aux lettres de Bertrand qui demeureront à jamais un immense souvenir de lecture, avec toute la grandiloquence et le ridicule sublime que l'amour nous inspire
(sinon c'est génial c'est des bourgeois ridicules qui pourrissent sur le pied de leur aigreur c'est déprimant et morne à souhait tout en étant grandiose de morosité et de vice j'adore)
(sinon c'est génial c'est des bourgeois ridicules qui pourrissent sur le pied de leur aigreur c'est déprimant et morne à souhait tout en étant grandiose de morosité et de vice j'adore)
December 4, 2014
Andando avanti con la lettura, mi si presentava alla mente il quadro di Munch, “l’urlo”.
Non è possibile prescindere dalle vicende personali dello scrittore per avvicinarsi al senso di questo libro.
Yves Navarre è nato in una famiglia dell’alta borghesia francese e fin dall’adolescenza ha combattuto contro il padre il quale, per evitare uno scandalo che potesse mettere in pericolo la sua carriera politica, voleva a tutti i costi “togliere di mezzo” l’omossessualità del figlio, tanto da arrivare a proporre un’operazione di lobotomia, che fu impedita dagli altri familiari dello scrittore.
Il romanzo ha una evidentissima base autobiografica ed è il desolante affresco della famiglia Prouillan, dominata dalla figura di Henri, marito e padre secondo le leggi della natura che tale l’ha reso, ma moralmente e umanamente indegno di svolgere detti ruoli perché privo di sentimenti, schiavo della sua carriera politica e delle convenzioni sociali che il ruolo della famiglia impone, cieco e sordo di fronte alle personalità della moglie e dei figli. Il libro dà voce alle riflessioni e ai pensieri dei membri della famiglia Prouillan, mettendo in evidenza le contraddizioni, gli squilibri, i sentimenti ambigui e i legami oscuri e irrazionali ma profondi che legano un “padre –assassino che non ha trovato niente di meglio per uccidere i propri figli che lasciarli vivere” e i figli Luc, Sebastien e Claire, i quali, ognuno a modo suo, subiscono nella loro esistenza il peso e l’influenza della figura paterna, temuta ed amata allo stesso tempo, e con lui sono complici e carnefici nei confronti del fratello Bertrand, un bel ragazzo giovane e brillante, omosessuale, che a vent’anni viene convinto a sottoporsi ad un’operazione al cervello allo scopo di “renderlo sano per suo padre”. Come si può convincere una persona a compiere un tale atto, mi sono chiesta e si chiederà anche chi legge questo commento. Non posso spiegarlo, se non anticipando il contenuto del libro, posso solo dire che si può essere morti dentro anche quando il nostro cuore batte regolarmente.
Il romanzo raccoglie una sofferta confessione collettiva delle colpe che ognuno dei protagonisti –ad eccezione di Henri, immobile nella sua posizione- prova per quanto accaduto il giorno del ventesimo compleanno di Bertrand: questi, seppur protagonista centrale dei pensieri di tutti, non parla, è trasformato in una specie di pupazzo di stoffa manovrato da altre persone che lo assistono nella sua vita da recluso in una proprietà paterna, non giudica e non accusa.
Ma tutto il romanzo, incentrato sul ricordo che ognuno ha dell’accaduto, rappresenta un urlo, terribile e disperato, di dolore.
Yves Navarre è morto suicida per una overdose di barbiturici nel 1993.
Non è possibile prescindere dalle vicende personali dello scrittore per avvicinarsi al senso di questo libro.
Yves Navarre è nato in una famiglia dell’alta borghesia francese e fin dall’adolescenza ha combattuto contro il padre il quale, per evitare uno scandalo che potesse mettere in pericolo la sua carriera politica, voleva a tutti i costi “togliere di mezzo” l’omossessualità del figlio, tanto da arrivare a proporre un’operazione di lobotomia, che fu impedita dagli altri familiari dello scrittore.
Il romanzo ha una evidentissima base autobiografica ed è il desolante affresco della famiglia Prouillan, dominata dalla figura di Henri, marito e padre secondo le leggi della natura che tale l’ha reso, ma moralmente e umanamente indegno di svolgere detti ruoli perché privo di sentimenti, schiavo della sua carriera politica e delle convenzioni sociali che il ruolo della famiglia impone, cieco e sordo di fronte alle personalità della moglie e dei figli. Il libro dà voce alle riflessioni e ai pensieri dei membri della famiglia Prouillan, mettendo in evidenza le contraddizioni, gli squilibri, i sentimenti ambigui e i legami oscuri e irrazionali ma profondi che legano un “padre –assassino che non ha trovato niente di meglio per uccidere i propri figli che lasciarli vivere” e i figli Luc, Sebastien e Claire, i quali, ognuno a modo suo, subiscono nella loro esistenza il peso e l’influenza della figura paterna, temuta ed amata allo stesso tempo, e con lui sono complici e carnefici nei confronti del fratello Bertrand, un bel ragazzo giovane e brillante, omosessuale, che a vent’anni viene convinto a sottoporsi ad un’operazione al cervello allo scopo di “renderlo sano per suo padre”. Come si può convincere una persona a compiere un tale atto, mi sono chiesta e si chiederà anche chi legge questo commento. Non posso spiegarlo, se non anticipando il contenuto del libro, posso solo dire che si può essere morti dentro anche quando il nostro cuore batte regolarmente.
Il romanzo raccoglie una sofferta confessione collettiva delle colpe che ognuno dei protagonisti –ad eccezione di Henri, immobile nella sua posizione- prova per quanto accaduto il giorno del ventesimo compleanno di Bertrand: questi, seppur protagonista centrale dei pensieri di tutti, non parla, è trasformato in una specie di pupazzo di stoffa manovrato da altre persone che lo assistono nella sua vita da recluso in una proprietà paterna, non giudica e non accusa.
Ma tutto il romanzo, incentrato sul ricordo che ognuno ha dell’accaduto, rappresenta un urlo, terribile e disperato, di dolore.
Yves Navarre è morto suicida per una overdose di barbiturici nel 1993.
January 16, 2025
3/5⭐
ce n'était pas facile de lire ce roman. les personnages sont nombreux, et sans arbre généalogique il est difficile de se repérer dans cette famille rongée de l'intérieur. l'écriture est dense et très stylisée par moments ; mais cela donne également des très belles phrases. la lecture s'allège vers la fin, il faut s'accrocher. cependant, c'est un véritable labyrinthe, on s'y perd et on manque d'abandonner la lecture (chose que je suis incapable de faire). c'est un livre qui fait très pompeux (l'étiquette "prix Goncourt" y participe) et qui s'enroule un peu sur lui-même jusqu'à vraiment nous faire perdre le fil, avec trop d'informations, trop de personnages, et un gros manque de concret. peut-être qu'un jour, je reviendrai le lire... mais difficile d'imaginer que je pourrais m'infliger une lecture aussi laborieuse une seconde fois.
ce n'était pas facile de lire ce roman. les personnages sont nombreux, et sans arbre généalogique il est difficile de se repérer dans cette famille rongée de l'intérieur. l'écriture est dense et très stylisée par moments ; mais cela donne également des très belles phrases. la lecture s'allège vers la fin, il faut s'accrocher. cependant, c'est un véritable labyrinthe, on s'y perd et on manque d'abandonner la lecture (chose que je suis incapable de faire). c'est un livre qui fait très pompeux (l'étiquette "prix Goncourt" y participe) et qui s'enroule un peu sur lui-même jusqu'à vraiment nous faire perdre le fil, avec trop d'informations, trop de personnages, et un gros manque de concret. peut-être qu'un jour, je reviendrai le lire... mais difficile d'imaginer que je pourrais m'infliger une lecture aussi laborieuse une seconde fois.
April 17, 2023
Grumi di dolore
La vita, le ossessioni raggrumate, condensate nelle lancinanti, ruggenti parole di Yves Navarre, premio Goncourt nel 1980 con Il giardino zoologico. Romanzo dolorosamente autobiografico, sofferto in ogni sua frase, perché riflesso dell’esperienza personale dello scrittore, Le jardin d’acclimatation vede al centro delle vicende il dramma di Bertrand Prouillan, fatto lobotomizzare dal padre perché omosessuale - nella totale connivenza e disinteresse dei suoi cosiddetti cari - e ridotto a una presenza-assenza nella vita della famiglia borghese Prouillan. I 40 anni di Bertrand e i 20 anni da questa tragedia, voluta per sgomberare la strada alla carriera politica del freddo genitore despota, portano tutti (padre & altri figli & co.) a riflettere sul ritorno da Barcellona del ragazzo-ribelle - annullato da un feroce intervento a cui egli stesso non si è sottratto -, e a fare i conti con un dramma che ancora morde e si dipana. Il 9 luglio diventa così inevitabile appuntamento con il passato presente. L’autore francese, morto suicida 53enne, intreccia una prosa di insidioso impatto emotivo; spesso si ha l’impressione di leggere una sequenza di brillanti, spietati aforismi sul dolore e sull’inadeguatezza al vivere, sulla brutalità dei legami affettivi. Navarre, vittima di un padre che avrebbe voluto lui stesso “normalizzarlo”, come il granitico patriarca Henri Prouillan, riversa in una scrittura complessa, veloce e impervia tutto il suo vissuto tormentato, con la densa immediatezza di periodi affilati e senza fronzoli, poco imbellettati da inutili aggettivi che “appiccicano il falso al vero delle parole e fanno fuggire la verità come la vita”. Accattivante l’incipit “alla finestra” del libro, che mi ha subito ricordato un’opera distante e sottilmente contigua, Giovanni’s Room. “I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life”, recita il libro di James Baldwin. Nelle efficaci parole di Navarre: “9 Luglio. Le 10 del mattino. Henri Prouillan è in piedi con le mani incrociate dietro la schiena, la testa leggermente inclinata, la fronte contro il vetro, dietro una delle tre portefinestre, quella del centro, nella grande sala. Guarda place d’Antioche, 75017 Parigi, dal suo primo piano. Ha settantaquattro anni”. Riflessi di dolori. Ricordi e ossessioni che si aggrumano nella mente. E che non si riuscirà mai a defenestrare
La vita, le ossessioni raggrumate, condensate nelle lancinanti, ruggenti parole di Yves Navarre, premio Goncourt nel 1980 con Il giardino zoologico. Romanzo dolorosamente autobiografico, sofferto in ogni sua frase, perché riflesso dell’esperienza personale dello scrittore, Le jardin d’acclimatation vede al centro delle vicende il dramma di Bertrand Prouillan, fatto lobotomizzare dal padre perché omosessuale - nella totale connivenza e disinteresse dei suoi cosiddetti cari - e ridotto a una presenza-assenza nella vita della famiglia borghese Prouillan. I 40 anni di Bertrand e i 20 anni da questa tragedia, voluta per sgomberare la strada alla carriera politica del freddo genitore despota, portano tutti (padre & altri figli & co.) a riflettere sul ritorno da Barcellona del ragazzo-ribelle - annullato da un feroce intervento a cui egli stesso non si è sottratto -, e a fare i conti con un dramma che ancora morde e si dipana. Il 9 luglio diventa così inevitabile appuntamento con il passato presente. L’autore francese, morto suicida 53enne, intreccia una prosa di insidioso impatto emotivo; spesso si ha l’impressione di leggere una sequenza di brillanti, spietati aforismi sul dolore e sull’inadeguatezza al vivere, sulla brutalità dei legami affettivi. Navarre, vittima di un padre che avrebbe voluto lui stesso “normalizzarlo”, come il granitico patriarca Henri Prouillan, riversa in una scrittura complessa, veloce e impervia tutto il suo vissuto tormentato, con la densa immediatezza di periodi affilati e senza fronzoli, poco imbellettati da inutili aggettivi che “appiccicano il falso al vero delle parole e fanno fuggire la verità come la vita”. Accattivante l’incipit “alla finestra” del libro, che mi ha subito ricordato un’opera distante e sottilmente contigua, Giovanni’s Room. “I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life”, recita il libro di James Baldwin. Nelle efficaci parole di Navarre: “9 Luglio. Le 10 del mattino. Henri Prouillan è in piedi con le mani incrociate dietro la schiena, la testa leggermente inclinata, la fronte contro il vetro, dietro una delle tre portefinestre, quella del centro, nella grande sala. Guarda place d’Antioche, 75017 Parigi, dal suo primo piano. Ha settantaquattro anni”. Riflessi di dolori. Ricordi e ossessioni che si aggrumano nella mente. E che non si riuscirà mai a defenestrare
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March 1, 2023Le jardin d'acclimation een akelig grondig verwoestend en bruut portret van een Franse familie uit de hogere klasse in het Parijs van de jaren zeventig.
Ik zeg het Parijs van de jaren zeventig, maar in werkelijkheid speelt de roman zich af op vijf ver-schillende locaties: het ouderlijk huis in het 17e arrondissement van Parijs; een huis buiten Sauve-terre, een gemeente in het zuiden van Frankrijk; een schip afgemeerd in Overfjellet, een fjord 300 km ten noorden van Oslo; een huis in Moncrabeau, een gemeente dicht bij de grens met Spanje; en een vakantiehuis in Exoudun, een gemeente in het westen van Frankrijk. Op elke locatie vinden we een overlevend lid van de familie Proullian, elk worstelend met hun gedachten op een avond, de veertigste verjaardag van de jongste zoon, Bertrand, en de twintigste verjaardag van de dag dat hij terugkeerde van zijn operatie in Spanje. Die operatie verbrijzelde de toch al disfunctionele fami-lie die we elk in de loop van de roman leren kennen.
De operatie die het gezin zo verbrijzelde, was een lobotomie, georganiseerd door de vader, Henri, die de homoseksualiteit van zijn jongste zoon een ongemak vond voor zijn ambities. Hoewel Ber-trand het meest duidelijk en zichtbaar beschadigd is, realiseren we ons geleidelijk dat elk van de kinderen, Luc, Claire en Sébastian, allemaal op hun eigen manier beschadigd zijn door hun koude, liefdeloze en controlerende vader die hen als weinig meer dan pionnen en accessoires in zijn leven beschouwt. Ze zijn misschien niet fysiek gelobotomiseerd, maar spiritueel en emotioneel wel.
Le jardin d'acclimation van de titel is een kinderpretpark buiten Parijs, een park waar de vier kin-deren ooit alleen naar toe gingen in hun jeugd en mogelijk de enige keer dat ze gelukkig en samen waren. Tegen de tijd dat we dit bezoek aan het park opnieuw bezoeken, kunnen we zien hoe de onschuldigen die ze waren door hun vader zijn vernietigd.
Ik zeg het Parijs van de jaren zeventig, maar in werkelijkheid speelt de roman zich af op vijf ver-schillende locaties: het ouderlijk huis in het 17e arrondissement van Parijs; een huis buiten Sauve-terre, een gemeente in het zuiden van Frankrijk; een schip afgemeerd in Overfjellet, een fjord 300 km ten noorden van Oslo; een huis in Moncrabeau, een gemeente dicht bij de grens met Spanje; en een vakantiehuis in Exoudun, een gemeente in het westen van Frankrijk. Op elke locatie vinden we een overlevend lid van de familie Proullian, elk worstelend met hun gedachten op een avond, de veertigste verjaardag van de jongste zoon, Bertrand, en de twintigste verjaardag van de dag dat hij terugkeerde van zijn operatie in Spanje. Die operatie verbrijzelde de toch al disfunctionele fami-lie die we elk in de loop van de roman leren kennen.
De operatie die het gezin zo verbrijzelde, was een lobotomie, georganiseerd door de vader, Henri, die de homoseksualiteit van zijn jongste zoon een ongemak vond voor zijn ambities. Hoewel Ber-trand het meest duidelijk en zichtbaar beschadigd is, realiseren we ons geleidelijk dat elk van de kinderen, Luc, Claire en Sébastian, allemaal op hun eigen manier beschadigd zijn door hun koude, liefdeloze en controlerende vader die hen als weinig meer dan pionnen en accessoires in zijn leven beschouwt. Ze zijn misschien niet fysiek gelobotomiseerd, maar spiritueel en emotioneel wel.
Le jardin d'acclimation van de titel is een kinderpretpark buiten Parijs, een park waar de vier kin-deren ooit alleen naar toe gingen in hun jeugd en mogelijk de enige keer dat ze gelukkig en samen waren. Tegen de tijd dat we dit bezoek aan het park opnieuw bezoeken, kunnen we zien hoe de onschuldigen die ze waren door hun vader zijn vernietigd.
March 10, 2021
Dans Le jardin d'acclimatation, Yves Navarre fait une critique efficace et sans pitié de la bourgeoisie française. Ce livre est, avant tout, d'une immense cruauté : l'histoire de Bertrand est, en effet, extrêmement bouleversante. Pas mal de pages m'ont choqué. Le fait que ce livre, paru en 1980 (et juste avant la crise du SIDA), ait eu un tel succès à l'époque est tout à fait remarquable.
Cependant, il y a plusieurs aspects du livre que j'ai pas trop appréciés. Navarre écrit très bien, mais son style peut aussi être plutôt fatigant. Mais ce qui m'a vraiment embêté dans ce livre, c'est que certains passages, et surtout la relation entre Bertrand et Romain, semblent faire l'apologie de la pédophilie. Franchement, j'ai vraiment pas compris l'intérêt de cet écart d'âge entre les deux. La nature pédophile de leur relation n'est que brièvement insinuée, ce qui ma beaucoup déçu, car c'est pas tous les jours qu'on croise de la fiction LGBT+ du début des années 80. On notera aussi les pages bizarres où Suzy regarde un peu trop de près les adolescents qui jouent dans une piscine municipale - juste pourquoi ?
Cependant, il y a plusieurs aspects du livre que j'ai pas trop appréciés. Navarre écrit très bien, mais son style peut aussi être plutôt fatigant. Mais ce qui m'a vraiment embêté dans ce livre, c'est que certains passages, et surtout la relation entre Bertrand et Romain, semblent faire l'apologie de la pédophilie. Franchement, j'ai vraiment pas compris l'intérêt de cet écart d'âge entre les deux. La nature pédophile de leur relation n'est que brièvement insinuée, ce qui ma beaucoup déçu, car c'est pas tous les jours qu'on croise de la fiction LGBT+ du début des années 80. On notera aussi les pages bizarres où Suzy regarde un peu trop de près les adolescents qui jouent dans une piscine municipale - juste pourquoi ?
April 29, 2022
C ‘est une relecture pour moi. Je l’avais lu voilà exactement une vingtaine d’années… Ça m’a permis d’apprécier encore davantage ce prix Goncourt-1980.
Le fait que l’auteur ait choisit Bernard comme prénom du protagoniste gay et Bernadette comme nounou de cette même famille m’apparaît comme le reflet d’une réalité forte: un fils gay est comme une nounou; il est dans la famille tout en ne l’étant pas, comme un membre à part (en tous cas dans ces années-là ce l’était presque automatiquement, encore aujourd’hui c’est encore bien présent).
Le jardin d’acclimatation est un Parc d’attraction (manèges) à Paris. C’est à l’image des relations entre les membres de la famille de l’oeuvre: je l’identifierai comme une saga familiale involontaire.
Le fait que l’auteur ait choisit Bernard comme prénom du protagoniste gay et Bernadette comme nounou de cette même famille m’apparaît comme le reflet d’une réalité forte: un fils gay est comme une nounou; il est dans la famille tout en ne l’étant pas, comme un membre à part (en tous cas dans ces années-là ce l’était presque automatiquement, encore aujourd’hui c’est encore bien présent).
Le jardin d’acclimatation est un Parc d’attraction (manèges) à Paris. C’est à l’image des relations entre les membres de la famille de l’oeuvre: je l’identifierai comme une saga familiale involontaire.
August 9, 2024
Il y a sûrement une bonne histoire dans ce livre, je souhaitais lire un livre se déroulant à Paris J.O 2024 oblige puis j'aime l'idée d'une famille qui rejoint la maison familiale l'été mais, ce livre a bien commencer j'ai aimer le premier chapitre avec Henri. Puis plus rien, le style de l'auteur m'a complètement ennuyer trop, trop, trop, trop, trop de verbe pour rien. L'action n'avance pas, il y a eu un drame on le découvre et c'es tout. Dommage mais je note ma lecture pas l'histoire ou le livre et je me suis fait chier du 2ème chapitre à la fin.
August 6, 2024
A la fois incroyable et horrible
January 6, 2019
J'ai mis un peu de temps à rentrer dans ce roman, sans doute en raison du style assez froid, presque clinique, mais l'ensemble est réussi, prenant.
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