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Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule
Salí corriendo de repente. Sólo me dio tiempo a oír a mi madre, que decía Pero ¿qué hace ese idiota? No quería estar con ellos, me negaba a compartir con ellos ese momento. Yo estaba ya lejos, había dejado de pertenecer a su mundo, la carta lo decía. Salí al campo y estuve andando gran parte de la noche: el ambiente fresco del norte, los caminos de tierra, el olor de la colza, muy intenso en esa época del año. Dediqué toda la noche a elaborar mi nueva vida, lejos de allí.
«La verdad es que la rebelión contra mis padres, contra la pobreza, contra mi clase social, su racismo, su violencia, sus atavismos, fue algo secundario. Porque, antes de que me alzara contra el mundo de mi infancia, el mundo de mi infancia se había alzado contra mí. Para mi familia y los demás, me había convertido en una fuente de vergüenza, incluso de repulsión. No tuve otra opción que la huida. Este libro es un intento de comprenderla.» Édouard Louis
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2014
1133 people are currently reading
28260 people want to read
About the author
Édouard Louis
32 books3,863 followersÉdouard Louis is a French writer born October 30, 1992. Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule, grew up in Hallencourt (Somme) before entering theater class at the Lycée Madeleine Michelis in Amiens. From 2008 to 2010 he was a delegate of the Amiens Academy to the National Council for High School Life, then studied history at the University of Picardy.
From 2011, he is pursuing sociology studies at the ENS in the rue d'Ulm. In 2013, he obtained a name change and became Édouard Louis.
The same year, he directed the collective work Pierre Bourdieu. Insubordination as a legacy to the PUF, a work in which Bourdieu's influence on critical thinking and on emancipation policies is analyzed. In March 2014, he announced that he would direct a collection, "Des mots", devoted to transcripts of conferences, interviews and short texts, for this publisher.
In February 2014, at the age of 21, he published En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule, a novel with a strong autobiographical influence. Very commented on in the media, and widely praised for its qualities, the book also gives rise to several controversies, notably on the way in which it depicts his family and his social background.
After the publication of the book, the themes it addresses are worth to Edouard Louis to receive in March 2014 the Pierre Guénin price against homophobia and for equal rights: the press release from the SOS homophobia association notes that “Édouard Louis makes you aware of the impregnation of homophobia in the daily lives of LGBT people.
From 2011, he is pursuing sociology studies at the ENS in the rue d'Ulm. In 2013, he obtained a name change and became Édouard Louis.
The same year, he directed the collective work Pierre Bourdieu. Insubordination as a legacy to the PUF, a work in which Bourdieu's influence on critical thinking and on emancipation policies is analyzed. In March 2014, he announced that he would direct a collection, "Des mots", devoted to transcripts of conferences, interviews and short texts, for this publisher.
In February 2014, at the age of 21, he published En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule, a novel with a strong autobiographical influence. Very commented on in the media, and widely praised for its qualities, the book also gives rise to several controversies, notably on the way in which it depicts his family and his social background.
After the publication of the book, the themes it addresses are worth to Edouard Louis to receive in March 2014 the Pierre Guénin price against homophobia and for equal rights: the press release from the SOS homophobia association notes that “Édouard Louis makes you aware of the impregnation of homophobia in the daily lives of LGBT people.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,577 reviews
September 11, 2017
I'm between 3.5 and 4 stars, so I'll round up.
"Words like affected or effeminate could always be heard in the mouths of adults around me: not just at school and not only by the two boys. They were like razor blades that would cut me for hours, for days, when I heard them, words I picked up and repeated to myself. I told myself over and over that they were right. I wished I could change. But my body would never obey me, and so the insults would start up again."
Eddy Bellegueule, a young man growing up in a poor town in northern France, is forced to confront how different he is from his peers at an early age. While he wants to be viewed as a man, as masculine, his voice is higher than most, his mannerisms are effeminate, he is unathletic (and not really motivated to try playing sports), and as much as he tries, he cannot hide his growing attraction to men. This spells disaster for a young man among lower class and working class people, whose favorite pastimes include drinking, getting into fights, fighting while drinking, and bragging about their sexual conquests.
The sad part is, the abuse Eddy takes isn't just at the hands of classmates or fellow townspeople—it comes from his own family, who don't understand how or why he is what he is, and are embarrassed that someone like him can be tied to them. While he hears his parents use racial and cultural slurs constantly, he also must get used to his father calling people (including him, from time to time) "faggot" and other derogatory names. It is a depressing life for Eddy; at times he tries valiantly to live along the margins and hopefully go unnoticed, and other times he tries to do what will help him "pass"—find a girlfriend, get into fights, attempt to have sex. But it is difficult for Eddy to escape his true identity.
"And yet I had understood that living a lie was the only chance I had of bringing a new truth into existence. Becoming a different person meant thinking of myself as a different person, believing I was something I wasn't so that gradually, step by step, I could become it."
The End of Eddy is nearly relentless in its brutal depiction of a young man coming to terms with his sexuality and his identity in an environment in which being different is not only discouraged but often met with physical violence and emotional abuse. This is an autobiographical novel, and Édouard Louis brings tremendous emotion to this story of a boy so desperate for approval and love from those around them that he is willing to destroy who he really is, just in the hopes that his parents and siblings would treat him differently.
This was a beautifully written but difficult book to read, because it was very bleak, but Louis treads carefully in not painting his characters as too black and white; you can see that Eddy's parents just don't know what to make of their son, and want to love him but want him to live an easier life, too.
At times, The End of Eddy was a little emotionally uncomfortable for me. It certainly brought back painful memories of adolescence, of desperately trying to be "normal" yet dealing with the slurs of people who wanted to label me because I was different. And of course, different isn't bad, but they didn't see that. But while this book is a tough read, it does sound a note of hopefulness as well, because sometimes the simple act of embracing who you are is what you need to combat those who try and bring you down.
I don't know if this is a book for everyone, but it definitely is one that will make you think and make you feel. It made me grateful that I am where I am at this point in my life, and while no one's life is 100 percent struggle-free, it truly does get better.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
"Words like affected or effeminate could always be heard in the mouths of adults around me: not just at school and not only by the two boys. They were like razor blades that would cut me for hours, for days, when I heard them, words I picked up and repeated to myself. I told myself over and over that they were right. I wished I could change. But my body would never obey me, and so the insults would start up again."
Eddy Bellegueule, a young man growing up in a poor town in northern France, is forced to confront how different he is from his peers at an early age. While he wants to be viewed as a man, as masculine, his voice is higher than most, his mannerisms are effeminate, he is unathletic (and not really motivated to try playing sports), and as much as he tries, he cannot hide his growing attraction to men. This spells disaster for a young man among lower class and working class people, whose favorite pastimes include drinking, getting into fights, fighting while drinking, and bragging about their sexual conquests.
The sad part is, the abuse Eddy takes isn't just at the hands of classmates or fellow townspeople—it comes from his own family, who don't understand how or why he is what he is, and are embarrassed that someone like him can be tied to them. While he hears his parents use racial and cultural slurs constantly, he also must get used to his father calling people (including him, from time to time) "faggot" and other derogatory names. It is a depressing life for Eddy; at times he tries valiantly to live along the margins and hopefully go unnoticed, and other times he tries to do what will help him "pass"—find a girlfriend, get into fights, attempt to have sex. But it is difficult for Eddy to escape his true identity.
"And yet I had understood that living a lie was the only chance I had of bringing a new truth into existence. Becoming a different person meant thinking of myself as a different person, believing I was something I wasn't so that gradually, step by step, I could become it."
The End of Eddy is nearly relentless in its brutal depiction of a young man coming to terms with his sexuality and his identity in an environment in which being different is not only discouraged but often met with physical violence and emotional abuse. This is an autobiographical novel, and Édouard Louis brings tremendous emotion to this story of a boy so desperate for approval and love from those around them that he is willing to destroy who he really is, just in the hopes that his parents and siblings would treat him differently.
This was a beautifully written but difficult book to read, because it was very bleak, but Louis treads carefully in not painting his characters as too black and white; you can see that Eddy's parents just don't know what to make of their son, and want to love him but want him to live an easier life, too.
At times, The End of Eddy was a little emotionally uncomfortable for me. It certainly brought back painful memories of adolescence, of desperately trying to be "normal" yet dealing with the slurs of people who wanted to label me because I was different. And of course, different isn't bad, but they didn't see that. But while this book is a tough read, it does sound a note of hopefulness as well, because sometimes the simple act of embracing who you are is what you need to combat those who try and bring you down.
I don't know if this is a book for everyone, but it definitely is one that will make you think and make you feel. It made me grateful that I am where I am at this point in my life, and while no one's life is 100 percent struggle-free, it truly does get better.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
February 21, 2025
I just stood there, immobile and inert, as passive--to invoke an expression my sister used and that I borrowed frequently--as a ballsack in a tar pit.
The End of Eddy ~~~ Édouard Louis
I came away from this read feeling ashamed, abused and dirty. I never experienced abuse or bullying like this in my life and it broke my heart, and yet, Louis heaped that same abuse upon others. He was the self-loathing homosexual that we all know too well.
The End of Eddy is an autobiographical story of brutality and violence, of small minds, foreshortened horizons and profound sexism and homophobia. Honestly, it's not much different than tRump's America. This ugly story is set in the 2000s. This is a story of France today. This is the story of the world today.
Eddy Bellegueule ~~ his last name the rough French equivalent of "hey, nice face" ~~ and also the author's birth name ~~ is a skinny, unathletic, verbally conscientious but academically uninspired child of 10 when we meet him. Life in his northern town is rough. Obesity is respected among the underemployed men, their drunken brawling a point of pride among their wives, who see it as a sign of inscrutable but ultimately admirable masculinity. Girls grow up to work as cashiers in the shop, and later to stay home to look after the kids; boys work in the factory or not at all. No one leaves. The nearby city of Amiens is too full of "blacks" and "ragheads," who'd cut you as soon as look at you, as everyone knows.
Every day at school, Eddy keeps an appointment in an out-of-the-way hall with two slightly older boys, one tall with red hair, the other shorter with a hunched back, who beat him, make him swallow their spit and call him pédale, pédé, tantouse, enculé, tarlouze, pédale douce, baltringue, tapette, tapette à mouches, fiotte, tafiole, tanche, folasse, grosse tante, tata, l'homosexuel, le gay – they have a lot of words for something they hate so much. He meets them there willingly, because he figures it's better they beat him up and call him names in a remote spot so others won't be so likely to join in. That someone might defend him doesn't occur to him, or anyone else.
This is a story without justice, filled with monsters. There is no beauty or redemption in Eddy's story . It is the story of a new subversive force in the West, born of an abandoned working class, that's fueling a whole hate filled revolution.
The End of Eddy ~~~ Édouard Louis
I came away from this read feeling ashamed, abused and dirty. I never experienced abuse or bullying like this in my life and it broke my heart, and yet, Louis heaped that same abuse upon others. He was the self-loathing homosexual that we all know too well.
The End of Eddy is an autobiographical story of brutality and violence, of small minds, foreshortened horizons and profound sexism and homophobia. Honestly, it's not much different than tRump's America. This ugly story is set in the 2000s. This is a story of France today. This is the story of the world today.
Eddy Bellegueule ~~ his last name the rough French equivalent of "hey, nice face" ~~ and also the author's birth name ~~ is a skinny, unathletic, verbally conscientious but academically uninspired child of 10 when we meet him. Life in his northern town is rough. Obesity is respected among the underemployed men, their drunken brawling a point of pride among their wives, who see it as a sign of inscrutable but ultimately admirable masculinity. Girls grow up to work as cashiers in the shop, and later to stay home to look after the kids; boys work in the factory or not at all. No one leaves. The nearby city of Amiens is too full of "blacks" and "ragheads," who'd cut you as soon as look at you, as everyone knows.
Every day at school, Eddy keeps an appointment in an out-of-the-way hall with two slightly older boys, one tall with red hair, the other shorter with a hunched back, who beat him, make him swallow their spit and call him pédale, pédé, tantouse, enculé, tarlouze, pédale douce, baltringue, tapette, tapette à mouches, fiotte, tafiole, tanche, folasse, grosse tante, tata, l'homosexuel, le gay – they have a lot of words for something they hate so much. He meets them there willingly, because he figures it's better they beat him up and call him names in a remote spot so others won't be so likely to join in. That someone might defend him doesn't occur to him, or anyone else.
This is a story without justice, filled with monsters. There is no beauty or redemption in Eddy's story . It is the story of a new subversive force in the West, born of an abandoned working class, that's fueling a whole hate filled revolution.
January 8, 2025
Quite detached, but still raw and visceral. An account of growing up different in an almost 19th century Russian style like peasant village in Picardy, full of social inequality and toxic masculinity
I have seen the Dutch theater production of The End of Eddy three times and had high expectations of the debut from Édouard Louis.
A gripping, if somewhat distantly told (an almost faux sociology tone, like a David Attenborough commenting on rural life) tale of growing up in a backwater in north France. The conditions young Eddy finds himself in are akin to Russian peasants in the 19th century, with extreme poverty and factory work. Also his world is full of toxic masculinity and racism to give the villagers some kind of a feeling of superiority in a changing world. The extreme cruelty of kids against what’s different is striking, with visceral details, humiliations, abuse and lust being depicted. Still this was an easy read, accessible an quickly told with some sudden speeding up at the end, despite the heavy themes encapsulated.
There are some discrepancies in the story telling that are a bit strange, like first the description of the family beings so poor that they don't have a phone and then 20 pages later his mother calls him to say she stays with the neighbours on the phone. And I also kind of disliked the foreshadowing to a different life during the book, since this has only 200 pages and foreshadowing drags one kind of out the immersive quality of the story.
Still this is a highly readable book and a solid 3.5 stars rounded up.
I have seen the Dutch theater production of The End of Eddy three times and had high expectations of the debut from Édouard Louis.
A gripping, if somewhat distantly told (an almost faux sociology tone, like a David Attenborough commenting on rural life) tale of growing up in a backwater in north France. The conditions young Eddy finds himself in are akin to Russian peasants in the 19th century, with extreme poverty and factory work. Also his world is full of toxic masculinity and racism to give the villagers some kind of a feeling of superiority in a changing world. The extreme cruelty of kids against what’s different is striking, with visceral details, humiliations, abuse and lust being depicted. Still this was an easy read, accessible an quickly told with some sudden speeding up at the end, despite the heavy themes encapsulated.
There are some discrepancies in the story telling that are a bit strange, like first the description of the family beings so poor that they don't have a phone and then 20 pages later his mother calls him to say she stays with the neighbours on the phone. And I also kind of disliked the foreshadowing to a different life during the book, since this has only 200 pages and foreshadowing drags one kind of out the immersive quality of the story.
Still this is a highly readable book and a solid 3.5 stars rounded up.
October 15, 2021
For me this was an eyeopener of a book which helps explain the current political situation in Europe.
Our first reaction to poverty is to distance ourselves from it, by blaming those in poverty. They live that way because they are slackers, they are lazy, etc etc. But that would then mean that people who have more are not lazy, are not slackers and from my experience that is simply not true. I know people who have money, a 'good' job etc and who are habitual avoiders of sweat and work. It is much easier to be lazy when you have, in that life is unfair as with all the rest.
Louis describes very well how poverty has it's own fruits, lack of education and why, the mistrust of education, medicine, the lack of hope in getting a better deal. Why the mistrust? Well think about how we teach dogs, now the current mode is teach them by positive reinforcement, praise them for the good things that they do and you develop the behaviours you want them to follow. Well now transfer that to humans (and don't get on your high horse, what works for dogs works for us as well.) What kind of rewards are the poor getting, they make it to the end of the month and then someone gets sick and the family is into debt again, or the house needs repairs, or someone gets into a little trouble. Because what is little for those who have, is a catastrophe for those who do not have that safety net. So no positive reinforcement, no bonus at the end of the month, no promotion, no taking out your daughter to the shops for a little treat.
Poverty shapes, it shapes the people, the culture, the history, their prospects and also how to be, how to be a man, how to be a woman, how to anesthesize yourself with violence and alcohol, what to do with the tragedy of wanting something different, what to do if you were different.
Some other reviews I read/saw:
The Paris Review
The Guardian
The New Yorker
London
Review Bookshop
Lambda Nominee for the 30th Lambda Literary Awards - Gay Fiction
BR with Lena
Our first reaction to poverty is to distance ourselves from it, by blaming those in poverty. They live that way because they are slackers, they are lazy, etc etc. But that would then mean that people who have more are not lazy, are not slackers and from my experience that is simply not true. I know people who have money, a 'good' job etc and who are habitual avoiders of sweat and work. It is much easier to be lazy when you have, in that life is unfair as with all the rest.
Louis describes very well how poverty has it's own fruits, lack of education and why, the mistrust of education, medicine, the lack of hope in getting a better deal. Why the mistrust? Well think about how we teach dogs, now the current mode is teach them by positive reinforcement, praise them for the good things that they do and you develop the behaviours you want them to follow. Well now transfer that to humans (and don't get on your high horse, what works for dogs works for us as well.) What kind of rewards are the poor getting, they make it to the end of the month and then someone gets sick and the family is into debt again, or the house needs repairs, or someone gets into a little trouble. Because what is little for those who have, is a catastrophe for those who do not have that safety net. So no positive reinforcement, no bonus at the end of the month, no promotion, no taking out your daughter to the shops for a little treat.
Poverty shapes, it shapes the people, the culture, the history, their prospects and also how to be, how to be a man, how to be a woman, how to anesthesize yourself with violence and alcohol, what to do with the tragedy of wanting something different, what to do if you were different.
Some other reviews I read/saw:
The Paris Review
The Guardian
The New Yorker
London
Review Bookshop
Lambda Nominee for the 30th Lambda Literary Awards - Gay Fiction
BR with Lena
August 30, 2018
*[enter] γλώσσα μεσημεριανάδικου*
"Συγκλονιστική κατάθεση ψυχής"
Μπορεί, αλλά ο,τιδήποτε πάνω από 3 αστέρια είναι sympathy vote
ΥΓ : ακολουθούν κι άλλα δύο βιβλία, στο δεύτερο βιβλίο περιγράφει πως τον βίασαν, στο τρίτο...
Ζ' αν ε μαρ...
ΥΓ2 : αν ξέρετε τίποτα γαλλικούλια, διαβάστε αυτό : http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premi...
Και αυτό : https://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/li...
Γεμίσαμε Κορτώδες και Σεντάρηδες. Και ανακαλύψαμε το "autofiction". Μεταξύ του autobiography και fiction.
Τι να πω...δεν ξέρω. Τι από όλο αυτό είναι αλήθεια, τι ψέμα, δεν ξέρω.
"Συγκλονιστική κατάθεση ψυχής"
Μπορεί, αλλά ο,τιδήποτε πάνω από 3 αστέρια είναι sympathy vote
ΥΓ : ακολουθούν κι άλλα δύο βιβλία, στο δεύτερο βιβλίο περιγράφει πως τον βίασαν, στο τρίτο...
Ζ' αν ε μαρ...
ΥΓ2 : αν ξέρετε τίποτα γαλλικούλια, διαβάστε αυτό : http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premi...
Και αυτό : https://culturebox.francetvinfo.fr/li...
Γεμίσαμε Κορτώδες και Σεντάρηδες. Και ανακαλύψαμε το "autofiction". Μεταξύ του autobiography και fiction.
Τι να πω...δεν ξέρω. Τι από όλο αυτό είναι αλήθεια, τι ψέμα, δεν ξέρω.
March 13, 2020
Hacía MUCHO tiempo que no leía un libro de tanta importancia y que me calase tanto. Lo he devorado en tres sentadas porque lo que cuenta lo hemos sufrido muchos, pero es algo de lo que se habla poco en el arte.
"Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule" es una autobiografía y una novela y un ensayo: sobre la homofobia, sobre la miseria, sobre la cerrazón, sobre la huida, sobre estar en el lugar equivocado, sobre encontrar en la cultura un refugio. Es, de verdad, uno de los libros más duros que he leído nunca, pero, quizás por ello, de los que más cercanos me he sentido y más me han cautivado. No os cuento más sobre el argumento porque os lo pienso regalar a todos para vuestros cumpleaños.
Estoy TAN orgulloso de ver cómo florece en el arte una generación de personas LGTB con talento y valentía, capaces de dar voz y de visibilizar los problemas del colectivo y de su generación... Pensad en Troye Sivan, en Josh Thomas, en Ellen Page... Qué maravilla, por favor. Qué ejercicio de libertad y de compromiso. El mundo está cambiando ante nuestros ojos, y apenas nos estamos dando cuenta.
"Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule" es una autobiografía y una novela y un ensayo: sobre la homofobia, sobre la miseria, sobre la cerrazón, sobre la huida, sobre estar en el lugar equivocado, sobre encontrar en la cultura un refugio. Es, de verdad, uno de los libros más duros que he leído nunca, pero, quizás por ello, de los que más cercanos me he sentido y más me han cautivado. No os cuento más sobre el argumento porque os lo pienso regalar a todos para vuestros cumpleaños.
Estoy TAN orgulloso de ver cómo florece en el arte una generación de personas LGTB con talento y valentía, capaces de dar voz y de visibilizar los problemas del colectivo y de su generación... Pensad en Troye Sivan, en Josh Thomas, en Ellen Page... Qué maravilla, por favor. Qué ejercicio de libertad y de compromiso. El mundo está cambiando ante nuestros ojos, y apenas nos estamos dando cuenta.
May 6, 2024
Will it ever be easier growing up gay in a small town? Have things really changed? I think one of the great qualities of this autobiographical novel was how atemporal it felt at times. I constantly forgot that Édouard Louis's experience was quite recent.
"From my childhood I have no happy memories. I don’t mean to say that I never, in all those years, felt any happiness or joy. But suffering is all- consuming: it somehow gets rid of anything that doesn’t fit into its system."
"From my childhood I have no happy memories. I don’t mean to say that I never, in all those years, felt any happiness or joy. But suffering is all- consuming: it somehow gets rid of anything that doesn’t fit into its system."
May 28, 2021
Kuzey Fransa’da cinsiyet rollerine körü körüne bağlı, geleneksel eril bir ortamda büyüyen Eddy Bellegueule ya da bildiğimiz haliyle Edouard Louis’nin hikayesi. Eddy’nin çocukluğundan itibaren hayatının merkezinde şiddet, toksik erkeklik, homofobi, alkolizm, yoksulluk, ırkçılık ve cehalet var. Fransa’da 90’lı yıllarda var olduğuna dahi inanamayacağınız böylesine konservatif bir çevrede tamamen farklı; sesiyle, davranışlarıyla klasik erkek tipinden ayrılan bir çocuk olarak büyüyen Eddy’nin hikayesini okumak çok da kolay değil. Bunda bir çocuğun böyle bir zorbalığın, acının ortasında kalması kadar yazarın yazım tercihi de etkili. Eduardo Louis'nin anlatımı öylesine açık ve filtresiz ki bazı noktalarda sanki kendisi yaşamamış da bu hikayeyi tamamen dışarıdan izleyen bir gözlemci gibi mesafeli bir şekilde aktarıyor. Bir yandan da kitapta ilerledikçe yazarın kendi çocukluğuyla yüzleştiği bir terapi seansını takip ediyor gibi hissediyorsunuz. Yazarın ilk kitabı olmasına ve çok genç bir yaşta yazılmış olmasına rağmen yeteneğini ve gücünü görebiliyorsunuz. Benim için Babamı Kim Öldürdü hala ayrı bir yere sahip ancak bu noktaya nasıl geldiğini ve altında yatan birikimi görebilmek adına çok kıymetli bir kitap. Son olarak; çeviri sayesinde okuma boyunca hiçbir takılma-kopma olmadan, olaylara yabancılaşmadan ancak Fransa’nın bir köyünde olduğunuzu da unutmadan takip ediyorsunuz. Her açıdan çok beğendiğim bir kitap oldu. Özellikle de toplumların sosyal ve politik sınırlarının karşısında ötekinin tanınmasına yönelik duruşu ile önemli bir okuma. Edouard Louis’nin acımasız açıklığını sevdiyseniz bu kitabı da mutlaka okuyun.
4,5/5
May 2, 2022
Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule (2014), de Edouar Louis (nacido Eddy Bellegueule)(1992-), me ha impresionado. No solo por lo que nos cuenta, sino también por el lugar y la época donde se desarrolla: Francia en el siglo XXI.
Resulta sorprendente que un país que hace alarde de su "libertad, fraternidad e igualdad" exista un entorno (rural en este caso) que todavía se rija por unos ideales tan obsoletos. Pero lo que cuenta el autor es su infancia novelada y, según él, con más parte de realidad que de ficción. En cualquier caso, la sociedad que describe Louis bien pudiera esclarecer lo que en el ámbito político está sucediendo en Francia y en otros países europeos en los últimos años.
«…, estaba todo el día quejándose de los políticos; de las reformas que recortaban las ayudas sociales; del poder, que aborrece en lo más hondo. Sin embargo, ese poder que aborrece, clama por él cuando de lo que se trata es de meter en cintura a alguien: meter en cintura a los árabes, el alcohol, la droga, los comportamientos sexuales que le parecen escandalosos. Suele decir En este país habría que poner un poco de orden.»; «Voluntad, deseo desesperado y siempre reanudado de colocar a otras personas por debajo de uno, para no estar en lo más bajo de la escala social.»
Realmente sentimos la incomprensión, el miedo, la ira y el resentimiento que van anidado en el protagonista, hasta llegar al punto de necesitar cambiarse de nombre. Aunque el texto es breve, resulta suficiente para entender que algo no va bien en esta Europa nuestra. Una Europa que insistimos en poner como ejemplo de sociedad "avanzada", en contraposición con el resto del mundo.
Y no solo hablo de la experiencia demoledora del protagonista, hay que llorar también por los personajes (personas) de su entorno. Porque, por muy injustos y deplorables que sean sus comportamientos, creo que queda claro que ellos no son los únicos culpables.
En lo formal, el uso de la primera persona y la transcripción literal de gran parte del habla de los personajes intensifican aún más una historia ya fortísima por sí misma.
Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule es una novela para reflexionar sobre las diferencias que todavía existen en este Occidente tan elogiado. Se trata de una de esas historias duras que debemos leer de vez en cuando para no acomodarnos demasiado a nuestro conocido y manejable mundo personal.
Resulta sorprendente que un país que hace alarde de su "libertad, fraternidad e igualdad" exista un entorno (rural en este caso) que todavía se rija por unos ideales tan obsoletos. Pero lo que cuenta el autor es su infancia novelada y, según él, con más parte de realidad que de ficción. En cualquier caso, la sociedad que describe Louis bien pudiera esclarecer lo que en el ámbito político está sucediendo en Francia y en otros países europeos en los últimos años.
«…, estaba todo el día quejándose de los políticos; de las reformas que recortaban las ayudas sociales; del poder, que aborrece en lo más hondo. Sin embargo, ese poder que aborrece, clama por él cuando de lo que se trata es de meter en cintura a alguien: meter en cintura a los árabes, el alcohol, la droga, los comportamientos sexuales que le parecen escandalosos. Suele decir En este país habría que poner un poco de orden.»; «Voluntad, deseo desesperado y siempre reanudado de colocar a otras personas por debajo de uno, para no estar en lo más bajo de la escala social.»
Realmente sentimos la incomprensión, el miedo, la ira y el resentimiento que van anidado en el protagonista, hasta llegar al punto de necesitar cambiarse de nombre. Aunque el texto es breve, resulta suficiente para entender que algo no va bien en esta Europa nuestra. Una Europa que insistimos en poner como ejemplo de sociedad "avanzada", en contraposición con el resto del mundo.
Y no solo hablo de la experiencia demoledora del protagonista, hay que llorar también por los personajes (personas) de su entorno. Porque, por muy injustos y deplorables que sean sus comportamientos, creo que queda claro que ellos no son los únicos culpables.
En lo formal, el uso de la primera persona y la transcripción literal de gran parte del habla de los personajes intensifican aún más una historia ya fortísima por sí misma.
Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule es una novela para reflexionar sobre las diferencias que todavía existen en este Occidente tan elogiado. Se trata de una de esas historias duras que debemos leer de vez en cuando para no acomodarnos demasiado a nuestro conocido y manejable mundo personal.
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May 20, 2025A line I read today in a different book solved a problem I was having with the review of this book by Édouard Louis. Here's the line:
"Horace dictated that a writer should set aside a finished poem for nine years. And only then decide if it is worth publishing".
The thing is, I wrote a long review for Édouard Louis's book well over a week ago, and as if I'd had a Horace insight before I'd read about his insight, I couldn't bring myself to post the review, so I set it aside until it might strike me in the future that it had some value, which I doubted.
The reason for doubt was that my review used a great lot of words to no great purpose—they said exactly what every other review of this book in the last ten years must have said:
•very impressive writing for a twenty year old who grew up with no books in the home;
•very revealing of the reality of living as a gay teenager in the poor industrial north of France, rife with homophobia, racism, sexism, alcoholism, and violence.
There! I'm done with Eddy Bellegueule. Thanks, Horace.
"Horace dictated that a writer should set aside a finished poem for nine years. And only then decide if it is worth publishing".
The thing is, I wrote a long review for Édouard Louis's book well over a week ago, and as if I'd had a Horace insight before I'd read about his insight, I couldn't bring myself to post the review, so I set it aside until it might strike me in the future that it had some value, which I doubted.
The reason for doubt was that my review used a great lot of words to no great purpose—they said exactly what every other review of this book in the last ten years must have said:
•very impressive writing for a twenty year old who grew up with no books in the home;
•very revealing of the reality of living as a gay teenager in the poor industrial north of France, rife with homophobia, racism, sexism, alcoholism, and violence.
There! I'm done with Eddy Bellegueule. Thanks, Horace.
June 3, 2019
Είναι κάτι βιβλία ρε παιδί μου που έχουν ταβάνι. Δεν μπορείς να τα κατακεραυνώσεις γιατί δεν είναι πραγματικά τόσο κακά αλλά δε μπορείς και να τα χαρακτηρίσεις ως μεγαλειώδη. Στη γλώσσα του goodreads το βιβλίο παίρνει το πολύ 3 αστεράκια. Συγχωρέστε με αν θα γίνω λίγο κυνική αλλά δε θεωρώ ότι όλες οι ιστορίες και τα βάσανα των ανθρώπων έχουν απαραίτητα νόημα να γίνουν βιβλίο. Δεν λέω ότι τέτοιες ωμές περιγραφές όπως τούτες εδώ του βιβλίου σε αφήνουν παγερά αδιάφορο, ούτε αντίστοιχα ότι θα πάψει ποτέ να αποσχολεί το γεγονός ότι ακόμα και στις σημερινές κοινωνίες το τίμημα της διαφορετικότητας είναι μεγάλο όμως ρε γαμώτο και το επιτηδευμένο δράμα κάπου λίγο μου κλωτσάει κάποιες φορές κυρίως όταν αισθάνομαι ότι η ιστορία θα ειπωθεί απλά για να ειπωθεί. Γνώμη μου. Τουλάχιστον εγώ αυτό ένιωσα κλείνοντας το βιβλίο το οποίο παρά την καλή αφηγηματική ροή δεν κατάφερε να με αγγίξει στο βαθμό που θα περίμενα
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April 16, 2022Una narrazione autobiografica che richiama l'eco di certe pagine di Annie Ernaux ma in maniera più puntuale i saggi di Bourdieu. In queste pagine cupe, che descrivono la vita francese di provincia, la povertà sembra una condanna e un destino, così come la violenza, l'alcolismo e il razzismo che l'accompagnano. I meccanismi di coazione a ripetere si attivano ineluttabilmente, di generazione in generazione, quasi si tramandassero nel sangue. Edouard Louis descrive la trappola sociale ma descrive anche il modo di sfuggirle. Ci sono indubbiamente tanti richiami ma riflette già una luce tutta sua questo autore.
July 12, 2024
Édouard Louis (aka Eddy Bellegueulle) has become something of a phenomenon in his native France with his best-selling, autobiographical novel En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule. The book chronicles Eddy's childhood in a small village in rural Northern France -- a place left behind by time and economic development. Eddy is gay and also -- crucially -- "effeminate", which for the traditional men and women of the village is anathema. In that place, boys are brought up to be tough, which means macho little bastards whose primary care in the world is not to be seen as weak, individual, different. Their lives revolve around tv and football, and later around fights, porn and the factory where they all work. Women are resigned to their lot, which involves bringing up the kids, struggling to feed the family with what little the husband brings in from the factory, and serving as punching bags for that husband's frustrations.
It goes without saying that in this kind of climate, an "effeminate" little boy (i.e. someone who can't quite masculinise their movements or voice as boys are expected to) will have it tough. Little Eddy has it real tough with the whole village making nasty jokes at his expense and his classmates taking the piss as often as they feel like it. The combination of abject poverty, lack of education and prospects, and a vile homophobia and racism create a stifling, toxic environment that Eddy can only wish to leave. Leave he does, but not before he's learnt to hate what he is with a passion.
For me, this book was a reminder that the incredible progress we've seen in gay rights and acceptance of gay people does not extend to the whole world, not even to the entire territory of so-called advanced countries (such as France). The author is at pains to stress that sexism is not the result of individual prejudice or circumstances, but rather the product of a system that benefits from keeping a large part of its population ignorant and stupid. Édouard Louis has said in an interview that he wishes to be a writer of violence, by which I understand individual violence (recently he wrote a book about his experience of being raped) but also systemic violence -- how those who inflict violence on others are themselves victims in certain ways. His depiction of his father in The End of Eddy is an example of this: for the most part, the father is portrayed as cruel and emotionally unavailable, a man who votes for Front National and wishes that Arabs be rounded up and exterminated. But a more complex reality appears when we find out that this is also a man who, in contrast to usual village practices, does not beat his wife or kids, and who ran away when younger in search of a better life in the city where his best mate was a Maghrebi.
Ultimately, however, this book did not work as well for me as I thought it would. Louis' emphasis on violence seems to me somewhat reactive and driven by ressentiment. I cannot identify with the wish to be a writer of violence (although there were times when I could, and I can see why this project is important to someone like Édouard Louis). I was also hoping for a more nuanced approach to the problem of post-industrialism -- how communities are fractured when their main means of livelihood are taken away from them. The society in which young Eddy grows up comes across as distinctively modern, not post-modern or post-industrialist, as would befit early noughties France. Louis does not expand on the ravages that specifically post-industrialism has wrought on these communities. Perhaps this is a big ask considering that Louis wrote this book when he was only 21. I'd like to see this writer grow and develop in his iterary style and political analysis, and will keep an eye out for further work.
It goes without saying that in this kind of climate, an "effeminate" little boy (i.e. someone who can't quite masculinise their movements or voice as boys are expected to) will have it tough. Little Eddy has it real tough with the whole village making nasty jokes at his expense and his classmates taking the piss as often as they feel like it. The combination of abject poverty, lack of education and prospects, and a vile homophobia and racism create a stifling, toxic environment that Eddy can only wish to leave. Leave he does, but not before he's learnt to hate what he is with a passion.
For me, this book was a reminder that the incredible progress we've seen in gay rights and acceptance of gay people does not extend to the whole world, not even to the entire territory of so-called advanced countries (such as France). The author is at pains to stress that sexism is not the result of individual prejudice or circumstances, but rather the product of a system that benefits from keeping a large part of its population ignorant and stupid. Édouard Louis has said in an interview that he wishes to be a writer of violence, by which I understand individual violence (recently he wrote a book about his experience of being raped) but also systemic violence -- how those who inflict violence on others are themselves victims in certain ways. His depiction of his father in The End of Eddy is an example of this: for the most part, the father is portrayed as cruel and emotionally unavailable, a man who votes for Front National and wishes that Arabs be rounded up and exterminated. But a more complex reality appears when we find out that this is also a man who, in contrast to usual village practices, does not beat his wife or kids, and who ran away when younger in search of a better life in the city where his best mate was a Maghrebi.
Ultimately, however, this book did not work as well for me as I thought it would. Louis' emphasis on violence seems to me somewhat reactive and driven by ressentiment. I cannot identify with the wish to be a writer of violence (although there were times when I could, and I can see why this project is important to someone like Édouard Louis). I was also hoping for a more nuanced approach to the problem of post-industrialism -- how communities are fractured when their main means of livelihood are taken away from them. The society in which young Eddy grows up comes across as distinctively modern, not post-modern or post-industrialist, as would befit early noughties France. Louis does not expand on the ravages that specifically post-industrialism has wrought on these communities. Perhaps this is a big ask considering that Louis wrote this book when he was only 21. I'd like to see this writer grow and develop in his iterary style and political analysis, and will keep an eye out for further work.
October 9, 2021
Nasıl yazılabilir böylesi kitaplar? Nasıl okunabilir? Bu insanlar gerçek mi ? Bir çocuğu sırf farklı diye dövebilen, tükürebilen, onu kendinden nefret ettirmeye varacak kadar eksik hissettirebilen bu varlıklar ne ?
Çocuk lgbti+ vardır arkadaşlar. Bugünün yetişkin bireyleri ruhlarına açtığınız yararlarla büyürler. Çaldığınız çocuklukları da yakanızı bırakmaz.
Çocuk lgbti+ vardır arkadaşlar. Bugünün yetişkin bireyleri ruhlarına açtığınız yararlarla büyürler. Çaldığınız çocuklukları da yakanızı bırakmaz.
January 4, 2022
seneye direkt senenin -muhtemelen- en iyilerinden birini okuyarak başlamak ne büyük keyif.
édouard louis'nin eddy bellegeule olduğu yıllarını, yani çocukluğunu, ilkgençliğini, ergenliğini okuyoruz bu kitapta. babamı kim öldürdü ile ortak anlar var burada da elbette, ikisi de otobiyografik öğeler taşıyan kitaplar oldukları için. ama orada politikaya, siyasete, daha "genel"e yönlenen metin burda tam aksine daha kişisel, özel alanlara kaymış. normlara, standartlara, toplumca kabul gören vasata uyum sağlayamadığı için tükenen, başka biri gibi davranmaya, yaşamaya çalışan, bunu başardığını sanıp hiç başaramadığını her gördüğünde yıkılan ve usanmadan tekrar tekrar deneyen eddy'yi okurken gerçekten kahroldum. yazar kadar, ve böylesine ciddi bir konuda olmasa da, çocukken okulda eser miktarda zorbalığa maruz kalmış biri olarak yazarın bakış açısı hiç düşünmediğim ama müthiş haklı bulduğum bir bakış açısını fark etmemi sağladı: siz bu zorbalardan başka bir şey düşünemezsiniz, ama onlar sizi arkalarını döndüğü an unutur, ve bu sizi kahreder. sizi asla düşünmeyen bu vasat insanların üzerinde hemfikir olduğu bu vasatlığa adapte olmak için gösterdiğiniz çabaya anca yıllar sonra acırsınız. bir tarafından bu şekilde tükense de başka bir tarafından dayanacak birilerini/bir şeyleri bulabildiğim için ben yine de kendimi şanslı buluyorum. bunu bulamayan eddy'ye eşlik etmek ise çok taze, çok farklı, çok eşsiz bir edebiyat deneyimi olsa da tabi bir yandan çok da üzücü. küçük eddy'ye sarılmak istedim okurken.
belirtmeden edemeyeceğim, çeviri harika. çok özenilmiş bir kitap, her sayfasından, her satırından anlaşılıyor.
édouard louis'nin eddy bellegeule olduğu yıllarını, yani çocukluğunu, ilkgençliğini, ergenliğini okuyoruz bu kitapta. babamı kim öldürdü ile ortak anlar var burada da elbette, ikisi de otobiyografik öğeler taşıyan kitaplar oldukları için. ama orada politikaya, siyasete, daha "genel"e yönlenen metin burda tam aksine daha kişisel, özel alanlara kaymış. normlara, standartlara, toplumca kabul gören vasata uyum sağlayamadığı için tükenen, başka biri gibi davranmaya, yaşamaya çalışan, bunu başardığını sanıp hiç başaramadığını her gördüğünde yıkılan ve usanmadan tekrar tekrar deneyen eddy'yi okurken gerçekten kahroldum. yazar kadar, ve böylesine ciddi bir konuda olmasa da, çocukken okulda eser miktarda zorbalığa maruz kalmış biri olarak yazarın bakış açısı hiç düşünmediğim ama müthiş haklı bulduğum bir bakış açısını fark etmemi sağladı: siz bu zorbalardan başka bir şey düşünemezsiniz, ama onlar sizi arkalarını döndüğü an unutur, ve bu sizi kahreder. sizi asla düşünmeyen bu vasat insanların üzerinde hemfikir olduğu bu vasatlığa adapte olmak için gösterdiğiniz çabaya anca yıllar sonra acırsınız. bir tarafından bu şekilde tükense de başka bir tarafından dayanacak birilerini/bir şeyleri bulabildiğim için ben yine de kendimi şanslı buluyorum. bunu bulamayan eddy'ye eşlik etmek ise çok taze, çok farklı, çok eşsiz bir edebiyat deneyimi olsa da tabi bir yandan çok da üzücü. küçük eddy'ye sarılmak istedim okurken.
belirtmeden edemeyeceğim, çeviri harika. çok özenilmiş bir kitap, her sayfasından, her satırından anlaşılıyor.
June 29, 2020
Pese a ser una lectura dura, que me ha removido muchas cosas, me he bebido este librito rápidamente. Y ahora necesito locamente los otros dos publicado por Louis. En "Para acabar con Eddy Bellegueule, Edouard Louis va a narrarnos la historida de su infancia y su adolescencia, la dura vida que llevó a causa de la intolerancia del pequeño pueblo donde vivía.
Desde muy chiquitito Eddy no era como los demás niños, tenía la voz fina, tenía gestos y actitudes que la sociedad cataloga de "femeninos" y no disfrutaba de las mismas cosas que el restos de niños. Esto conllevaba que la horrible sociedad que lo rodeaba lo señalara. Empezando por sus propios padres. Siempre me cuesta creer que los padres sean el principal elemento de acoso a sus hijos. Grandes culpables de crear esos traumas a sus pequeños desde la más tierna infancia, pero tristemente, es así. Tanto su padre como su madre castigaban y recriminaban a Eddy siempre que este les resultaba "demasiado afeminado".
Curiosamente, uno de los hermanos mayores de Eddy, maltratador de manual, que pega a su mujer, a sus padres y a sus hermanos, nunca es juzgado por sus padres. "Es normal que un hombre sea agresivo", piensan constantemente, justificando así la violencia con la que actúan casi todos los hombres que aparecen en la vida de Eddy. Cuanto daño ha hecho y sigue haciendo el machismo.
Un libro que te toca profundamente, y que para los que hemos sufrido ese bullying, a veces directo, a veces sutil, nos va a calar muy hondo. Nada nuevo, pero sí necesario seguir contándolo.
Desde muy chiquitito Eddy no era como los demás niños, tenía la voz fina, tenía gestos y actitudes que la sociedad cataloga de "femeninos" y no disfrutaba de las mismas cosas que el restos de niños. Esto conllevaba que la horrible sociedad que lo rodeaba lo señalara. Empezando por sus propios padres. Siempre me cuesta creer que los padres sean el principal elemento de acoso a sus hijos. Grandes culpables de crear esos traumas a sus pequeños desde la más tierna infancia, pero tristemente, es así. Tanto su padre como su madre castigaban y recriminaban a Eddy siempre que este les resultaba "demasiado afeminado".
Curiosamente, uno de los hermanos mayores de Eddy, maltratador de manual, que pega a su mujer, a sus padres y a sus hermanos, nunca es juzgado por sus padres. "Es normal que un hombre sea agresivo", piensan constantemente, justificando así la violencia con la que actúan casi todos los hombres que aparecen en la vida de Eddy. Cuanto daño ha hecho y sigue haciendo el machismo.
Un libro que te toca profundamente, y que para los que hemos sufrido ese bullying, a veces directo, a veces sutil, nos va a calar muy hondo. Nada nuevo, pero sí necesario seguir contándolo.
April 26, 2023
Ce livre a fait battre mon Coeur un peu trop fort... je ne suis pas prête à me séparer d’Eddy, demain je cours emprunter ses autres livres.
March 1, 2017
Only in France would a fictionalized memoir about a brutalized sissyboy be underpinned by the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu. Only in France would it be a phenomenon: En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule was published in 2014 – it's just been translated into English and a score of other languages. Édouard Louis (only 19 when he wrote this book) has been compared to Knausgaard and Ferrante. How much is hype?
Not too much, in my view. It's a solid little story; it takes place in the impoverished towns of northern France. Its ambiance reminded me of Bruno Dumont's La Vie de Jésus or Gaël Morel's Le Clan. It's the all-too-familiar tale of an imaginative, effeminate boy being bullied for an affect he can't control, can't understand, can't disavow. Louis brings a disciplined objectivity to what, in American prose, would be a bitter tale of black comedy or suppressed rage or wretched catharsis. The French (to return to my stereotype) do this well. (I'm thinking of Tricks: 25 Encounters (1981) in which Renaud Camus described sex with strangers in the dry, unastonished voice of an anthropologist observing his own tribe – at a time when Americans were publishing fervid classics like Dancer from the Dance and A Boy's Own Story.) Louis concludes his recit with a small surprise - and here I salute the inspired comparison from Neil Barrett's review in The Guardian: "The ending of the story is strange, fractured and brilliant, especially the audaciously suspended moment – which reminded me of the unforgettable freeze-frame at the end of Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cents Coups – as he leaps out of his childhood into the possibility of salvation." The title that came to my mind is from a slight, earthshaking novel I read at Eddy's age (sitting at the back of homeroom): I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.
Not too much, in my view. It's a solid little story; it takes place in the impoverished towns of northern France. Its ambiance reminded me of Bruno Dumont's La Vie de Jésus or Gaël Morel's Le Clan. It's the all-too-familiar tale of an imaginative, effeminate boy being bullied for an affect he can't control, can't understand, can't disavow. Louis brings a disciplined objectivity to what, in American prose, would be a bitter tale of black comedy or suppressed rage or wretched catharsis. The French (to return to my stereotype) do this well. (I'm thinking of Tricks: 25 Encounters (1981) in which Renaud Camus described sex with strangers in the dry, unastonished voice of an anthropologist observing his own tribe – at a time when Americans were publishing fervid classics like Dancer from the Dance and A Boy's Own Story.) Louis concludes his recit with a small surprise - and here I salute the inspired comparison from Neil Barrett's review in The Guardian: "The ending of the story is strange, fractured and brilliant, especially the audaciously suspended moment – which reminded me of the unforgettable freeze-frame at the end of Truffaut’s Les Quatre Cents Coups – as he leaps out of his childhood into the possibility of salvation." The title that came to my mind is from a slight, earthshaking novel I read at Eddy's age (sitting at the back of homeroom): I'll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip.
May 18, 2017
A brief but unrelenting autobiographical novel about growing up gay and poor in Northern France. This was originally published in French in 2014, when the author was just 21. Since then it has sold 300,000 copies in France and been translated into 20+ languages. It can be hard to read scenes such as the one where Eddy has his – not entirely consensual or wholesome – sexual initiation. But there is also something cathartic about them, particularly since readers learn early on that Eddy makes it out of this situation (“years later, when I arrived in Paris and at the École Normale…”). It helps to know that he has a life beyond this painful one. The title reflects a determination to be done with others’ conceptions of who he is or should be – the passive prey, the effeminate disappointment versus the longed-for macho male, the deprived boy – and find his own way in life.
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my article on the book as a publishing phenomenon.)
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my article on the book as a publishing phenomenon.)
September 21, 2019
Σ' έναν κόσμο που αρνείται τη διαφορετικότητα και αντιμετωπίζει τον Εντύ Μπελγκέλ περίπου ως βδέλυγμα, άλλη διέξοδος από τη φυγή δεν υπάρχει. Αλλά ο δρόμος που πρέπει να διανυθεί (δυστυχώς, όχι μέχρι να αποδεχθεί ο κόσμος τον Μπελγκέλ, αλλά μέχρι να αποδεχθεί εκείνος ότι αυτός ο κόσμος δεν θα αλλάξει ποτέ) είναι μακρύς κι η κάθε μέρα ένας επαναλαμβανόμενος εφιάλτης.
(Με αφορμή την συμπλήρωση ενός χρόνου από την άγρια δολοφονία ενός άλλου 'διαφορετικού', του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου)
(Με αφορμή την συμπλήρωση ενός χρόνου από την άγρια δολοφονία ενός άλλου 'διαφορετικού', του Ζακ Κωστόπουλου)
June 27, 2018
"The End of Eddy" / "Das Ende von Eddy"
Édouard Louis (fka Eddy Bellegeule) does it all: He just finished his stint as a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College and next Monday, he'll give his first lecture at Freie Universität Berlin (it's public, so go there, people!). Also, he has become one of the most important voices in France, his books sell like crazy, and his opinions on the working class and the Alt-Right are published in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/op...). Oh, have I mentioned that this guy is 25?!
"The End of Eddy" was his first book, published in 2014, and it is an account of him growing up as a gay kid in a poor family in the Picardie. Similar to his friend and mentor Didier Eribon, Louis describes the structural undercurrents that shape this ailing rural community and that drive the inhabitants of the village to behave as they do: The hard, repetetive work in the factories or as cashiers; the toxic masculinity and reactionary female stereotypes; the suspicion against education and the educated; the alcoholism. Roles and behaviors are inherited over generations, and so is poverty.
Eddy Bellegeule, who is gay, loves theatre and aims to go to university, does not fit in, he is perceived as a source of shame and a target of humiliation. As a kid, that must have been hell for him, but reading his account, it becomes clear that those who torture him also suffer tremendously (which is certainly no excuse for their hate and neglect). Eddy aims to become a regular member of the community, playing soccer, telling gay jokes and trying to convert himself to heterosexuality, but of course he fails and finally flees.
There are several questions that one might ask here: First of all, I am always having trouble with Eribon's deterministic view which shines through here as well, but way less extreme. While society puts up tremendous, unfair obstacles against the class depicted in the book, these people still have a free will. Not being able to exercise it to a degree that other classes can due to outside circumstances is a terrible injustice, but it does not mean that free will is taken away from the lower working class - Eribon and Louis left their homes, for example. From a wider perspective, this is of course no solution: The working class needs better living and working conidtions, and Louis is an advocate for this.
Another question would be whether this is ficton or non-fiction. Louis says that what is described in this book happened to him, while some people who are characters in the text saw certain parts differently. I guess this is no contradiction: The book his highly personal and based on memory, many characters look really bad in this story, so I guess some are ashamed while others really believe in a different course of events. "The Ende of Eddy" is about Louis' perspective, and that is his prerogative as an author.
I am really excited to read more from Louis, and to see where he will be going in the future. His third book, Qui a tué mon père, seems to be a piece of social advocacy and sounds fascinating. Oh, and his second book History of Violence is really good as well.
Édouard Louis (fka Eddy Bellegeule) does it all: He just finished his stint as a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College and next Monday, he'll give his first lecture at Freie Universität Berlin (it's public, so go there, people!). Also, he has become one of the most important voices in France, his books sell like crazy, and his opinions on the working class and the Alt-Right are published in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/op...). Oh, have I mentioned that this guy is 25?!
"The End of Eddy" was his first book, published in 2014, and it is an account of him growing up as a gay kid in a poor family in the Picardie. Similar to his friend and mentor Didier Eribon, Louis describes the structural undercurrents that shape this ailing rural community and that drive the inhabitants of the village to behave as they do: The hard, repetetive work in the factories or as cashiers; the toxic masculinity and reactionary female stereotypes; the suspicion against education and the educated; the alcoholism. Roles and behaviors are inherited over generations, and so is poverty.
Eddy Bellegeule, who is gay, loves theatre and aims to go to university, does not fit in, he is perceived as a source of shame and a target of humiliation. As a kid, that must have been hell for him, but reading his account, it becomes clear that those who torture him also suffer tremendously (which is certainly no excuse for their hate and neglect). Eddy aims to become a regular member of the community, playing soccer, telling gay jokes and trying to convert himself to heterosexuality, but of course he fails and finally flees.
There are several questions that one might ask here: First of all, I am always having trouble with Eribon's deterministic view which shines through here as well, but way less extreme. While society puts up tremendous, unfair obstacles against the class depicted in the book, these people still have a free will. Not being able to exercise it to a degree that other classes can due to outside circumstances is a terrible injustice, but it does not mean that free will is taken away from the lower working class - Eribon and Louis left their homes, for example. From a wider perspective, this is of course no solution: The working class needs better living and working conidtions, and Louis is an advocate for this.
Another question would be whether this is ficton or non-fiction. Louis says that what is described in this book happened to him, while some people who are characters in the text saw certain parts differently. I guess this is no contradiction: The book his highly personal and based on memory, many characters look really bad in this story, so I guess some are ashamed while others really believe in a different course of events. "The Ende of Eddy" is about Louis' perspective, and that is his prerogative as an author.
I am really excited to read more from Louis, and to see where he will be going in the future. His third book, Qui a tué mon père, seems to be a piece of social advocacy and sounds fascinating. Oh, and his second book History of Violence is really good as well.
March 22, 2019
Αρχικά να επισημάνω πως πρόκειται για ένα σκληρό βιβλίο με ωμές περιγραφές! Ένα βιβλίο που σου προκαλεί έντονα συναισθήματα. Εκνευρίστηκα σε υπερβολικό βαθμό, πόνεσα πολύ, αηδίασα από την απανθρωπιά των ανθρώπων.
Βρίσκομαστε λοιπόν, σε ένα μικρό χωριό της βόρειας Γαλλίας, όπου επικρατούν αταβιστικές συμπεριφορές. Ο άντρας πρεσβεύει τη βία, οφείλει να πίνει κ όταν θυμώνει να δέρνει τη γυναίκα του. Δυστυχώς, η βία σε κλειστές κοινωνίες θεωρείται βασικό προσόν για τον άντρα. Είναι φυσιολογικό ο άντρας να φέρεται κατά αυτόν τον τρόπο.
Σε μια φτωχή οικογένεια, την οικογένεια Μπεγκέλ, γεννιέται, ο Εντύ, ο οποίος από μικρή ηλικία δείχνει τη διαφορετικότητά του. Είναι εγκλωβισμένος σε μια φύση που δεν τον εκφράζει. Αυτή η διαφορετικότητα προκαλεί ρατσισμό, λεκτική κ σωματική βία. Είναι όνειδος για τους κατοίκους του χωριού. Καθετί διαφορετικό απορρίπτεται από το σύστημα.
Ο Εντύ θα παλέψει, θα πονέσει, θα κλάψει, θα κρυφτεί, θα ντραπεί, αλλά στο τέλος θα επαναστατήσει κ θα λυτρωθεί.
Το τέλος μου φάνηκε απότομο. Όμως, είναι μια ιστορία που δε θα ξεχάσω ποτέ.
Βρίσκομαστε λοιπόν, σε ένα μικρό χωριό της βόρειας Γαλλίας, όπου επικρατούν αταβιστικές συμπεριφορές. Ο άντρας πρεσβεύει τη βία, οφείλει να πίνει κ όταν θυμώνει να δέρνει τη γυναίκα του. Δυστυχώς, η βία σε κλειστές κοινωνίες θεωρείται βασικό προσόν για τον άντρα. Είναι φυσιολογικό ο άντρας να φέρεται κατά αυτόν τον τρόπο.
Σε μια φτωχή οικογένεια, την οικογένεια Μπεγκέλ, γεννιέται, ο Εντύ, ο οποίος από μικρή ηλικία δείχνει τη διαφορετικότητά του. Είναι εγκλωβισμένος σε μια φύση που δεν τον εκφράζει. Αυτή η διαφορετικότητα προκαλεί ρατσισμό, λεκτική κ σωματική βία. Είναι όνειδος για τους κατοίκους του χωριού. Καθετί διαφορετικό απορρίπτεται από το σύστημα.
Ο Εντύ θα παλέψει, θα πονέσει, θα κλάψει, θα κρυφτεί, θα ντραπεί, αλλά στο τέλος θα επαναστατήσει κ θα λυτρωθεί.
Το τέλος μου φάνηκε απότομο. Όμως, είναι μια ιστορία που δε θα ξεχάσω ποτέ.
July 5, 2020
Rastrzan sam između važnih tema koje Luijevo delo pokreće i njegove (ispod)prosečne jezičke realizacije. Verujem da niko ne može da bude imun na muke koje je jedno mlado biće moralo da proživi, ali meni ispovest, sama po sebi, ne predstavlja književnu vrednost, već ubedljivost oblikovanja književne građe. Nije, dakle, cilj biti iskren, ogoliti se sasvim, već narativno proizveti efekat uverljivosti, iskrenosti. Nedostatak distance između želje za pripovedanjem i materijala koji se pripoveda, dovodi često do zamućenih rezultata. To, doduše, nije slučaj sa Eduarom Lujem i njegovim okretnim pripovedanjem (knjiga se ne ispušta iz ruku), ali jeste posredi nešto drugo – „Gotovo je s Edijem Belgelom” školski je primer misery lita – biografskog žanra u kome se tematizuje nečije traumatično iskustvo, vezano za zlostavljanje, nasilje, seksualnost, psihičke probleme, alkoholizam, zanemarivanje deteta, bolesti, smrti, siromaštva. Doslovno svaka navedena stavka prisutna je u delu – bolno odrastanje kao sintagma dobija nov značaj kada se na umu ima ono što je Luj napisao. Prva rečenica romana – „Nemam nijednu srećnu uspomenu iz detinjstva” nije preterivanje.
Nema potrebe da navodim sve muke koje je Edi preživeo, ko želi da to sazna, naći će u romanu. I iako se na prvi pogled čini da je koren svih muka, buđenje dečakove (homo)seksualnosti, ona predstavlja samo jedan od krakova daleko dubljeg porekla. Pripadajući nižoj, siromašnoj, radničkoj klasi, nastanjenoj u zabiti na severu Francuske, Edi je od svojih prvih koraka bio predodređen za drukčiji život od onog koji želi, od onog koji mu pripada. Uz socijalno-ekonomski nivo, problemi izviruju i iz statusa članova porodice – majka koja je kao maloletnica dobila dete sa izuzetno nasilnim ocem alkoholičarem, rođaci koji na svakoj petoj stranici umiru kao da je ratno stanje i potpuno zanemarena deca, kojima je jedina perspektiva da jednog dana rade kao prodavci u supermarketu, gde će dobiti posebnu bolest zglobova, a vikendom da igraju fudbal.
Ima nečeg neplemenitog u svemu ovome – nečeg voajerskog, oslade u jadu. Podmuklost misery lit-a je ta da mi želimo u njemu da vidimo koliko je nekome loše, čime će nama biti lakše – ili ćemo se prepoznati pa nećemo biti usamljeni, ili ćemo shvatiti koliko nam je životna pozicija zapravo udobna.
Ja se nadam da je Ediju bolje i želim mu da nastavi. On i u intervjuima deluje kao jedno veoma kultivisano, harizmatično i pametno biće. A istini za volju, nije ovo delo pisano kao paradiranje samosažaljenjem, već iz jedne vrišteće potrebe, što ne mora da se ceni, ali nije ni nevažno.
U dvadeset i prvoj godini objaviti ovakvo delo nije mala stvar – manje, doduše, za samu književnost, a više za oslobađanje jednog u patnji učaurenog bića. U krajnjoj liniji i za društvo – ovakve povesti mogu dopreti do mnogih koji su neskloni književnosti, a time i promeniti živote.
Nema potrebe da navodim sve muke koje je Edi preživeo, ko želi da to sazna, naći će u romanu. I iako se na prvi pogled čini da je koren svih muka, buđenje dečakove (homo)seksualnosti, ona predstavlja samo jedan od krakova daleko dubljeg porekla. Pripadajući nižoj, siromašnoj, radničkoj klasi, nastanjenoj u zabiti na severu Francuske, Edi je od svojih prvih koraka bio predodređen za drukčiji život od onog koji želi, od onog koji mu pripada. Uz socijalno-ekonomski nivo, problemi izviruju i iz statusa članova porodice – majka koja je kao maloletnica dobila dete sa izuzetno nasilnim ocem alkoholičarem, rođaci koji na svakoj petoj stranici umiru kao da je ratno stanje i potpuno zanemarena deca, kojima je jedina perspektiva da jednog dana rade kao prodavci u supermarketu, gde će dobiti posebnu bolest zglobova, a vikendom da igraju fudbal.
Ima nečeg neplemenitog u svemu ovome – nečeg voajerskog, oslade u jadu. Podmuklost misery lit-a je ta da mi želimo u njemu da vidimo koliko je nekome loše, čime će nama biti lakše – ili ćemo se prepoznati pa nećemo biti usamljeni, ili ćemo shvatiti koliko nam je životna pozicija zapravo udobna.
Ja se nadam da je Ediju bolje i želim mu da nastavi. On i u intervjuima deluje kao jedno veoma kultivisano, harizmatično i pametno biće. A istini za volju, nije ovo delo pisano kao paradiranje samosažaljenjem, već iz jedne vrišteće potrebe, što ne mora da se ceni, ali nije ni nevažno.
U dvadeset i prvoj godini objaviti ovakvo delo nije mala stvar – manje, doduše, za samu književnost, a više za oslobađanje jednog u patnji učaurenog bića. U krajnjoj liniji i za društvo – ovakve povesti mogu dopreti do mnogih koji su neskloni književnosti, a time i promeniti živote.
January 16, 2018
Another read from the Tournament of Books shortlist, about bullying and masculinity and its impact on a gay boy coming of age in a French factory town. Translated from the French and largely autobiographical, it's not a cheery read, but thought-provoking and full of truths and realities.
Compared to a recent read, The Heart's Invisible Furies, which wraps a gay coming of age story in a larger narrative about cultures changing (or not) and AIDs, this is a much narrower, more rural, and more focused view. Both are good reads for different reasons.
Compared to a recent read, The Heart's Invisible Furies, which wraps a gay coming of age story in a larger narrative about cultures changing (or not) and AIDs, this is a much narrower, more rural, and more focused view. Both are good reads for different reasons.
November 25, 2022
Anlatımıyla değil ama anlattıklarıyla çok ağır bir kitap Eddy'nin Sonu. Babamı Kim Öldürdü'den aşina olduğumuz tavrını, her şeyi olduğu gibi, abartmadan ama yumuşatmadan da okura aktaran anlatımını burada da devam ettirmiş Édouard Louis. Gelgelelim bu kitap çok daha kişisel bir mevzuya, ırkçı ve homofobik bir bölgede yetişen Louis'in eşcinsel bir çocuk olarak hayatta kalma çabasına odaklandığı, yazar olayların öznesi olduğu için haliyle okur olarak biz de aynı derecede yakından bakıyoruz yaşananlara. Ve etkileniyoruz tabi ki.
Aslında buradaki kadar ayrıntılı olmasa da yaşadıklarından Babamı Kim Öldürdü'de de bahsediyordu yazar. Haliyle bu kitap onun içinden bazı bölümlerin alınıp daha genişletilerek ayrı bir kitap haline getirilmiş versiyonunu da biraz andırıyor. Kitap içinde de çok fazla tekrar eden mesele -ailenin ırkçılığı, homofobikliği, en çok da fakirliği- olunca gereğinden çok daha fazla uzun bir metin okuyormuş gibi hissettiğim de oldu.
Bir diğer sıkıntım da Cenk'in bahsettiği şey, yazarın dilimize çevrilen iki kitabında da bir kurmaca değil de kendisinin ve ailesinin hayatını anlatması. Bu tabi ki çok geçerli bir tercih ancak bu malzemenin 1992'de doğmuş oldukça genç bir yazar için belli bir noktaya kadar yeteceği de aşikar. Anladığım kadarıyla Louis'in dilimize henüz çevrilmemiş diğer ünlü eseri Şiddetin Tarihçesi de yine bir otobiyografi. Louis'in anlatımı çok başarılı olsa da kurmaca konusunda ne kadar iyi olduğunu zamanla göreceğiz sanırım.
Çoğunlukla olumsuz şeyler yazdım ama doğrusu Eddy'nin Sonu beni çok etkileyen, rahatsız eden bir kitap oldu yine. Ayberk Eray'ın çevirisi de muazzam, kendisine sahip olduğumuz için bence çok şanslıyız. Louis ne yazsa okuyacağım çağdaş yazarlardan biri olmaya devam ediyor, umarım Histoire de la violence'i de çok geçmeden dilimizde görebiliriz.
Aslında buradaki kadar ayrıntılı olmasa da yaşadıklarından Babamı Kim Öldürdü'de de bahsediyordu yazar. Haliyle bu kitap onun içinden bazı bölümlerin alınıp daha genişletilerek ayrı bir kitap haline getirilmiş versiyonunu da biraz andırıyor. Kitap içinde de çok fazla tekrar eden mesele -ailenin ırkçılığı, homofobikliği, en çok da fakirliği- olunca gereğinden çok daha fazla uzun bir metin okuyormuş gibi hissettiğim de oldu.
Bir diğer sıkıntım da Cenk'in bahsettiği şey, yazarın dilimize çevrilen iki kitabında da bir kurmaca değil de kendisinin ve ailesinin hayatını anlatması. Bu tabi ki çok geçerli bir tercih ancak bu malzemenin 1992'de doğmuş oldukça genç bir yazar için belli bir noktaya kadar yeteceği de aşikar. Anladığım kadarıyla Louis'in dilimize henüz çevrilmemiş diğer ünlü eseri Şiddetin Tarihçesi de yine bir otobiyografi. Louis'in anlatımı çok başarılı olsa da kurmaca konusunda ne kadar iyi olduğunu zamanla göreceğiz sanırım.
Çoğunlukla olumsuz şeyler yazdım ama doğrusu Eddy'nin Sonu beni çok etkileyen, rahatsız eden bir kitap oldu yine. Ayberk Eray'ın çevirisi de muazzam, kendisine sahip olduğumuz için bence çok şanslıyız. Louis ne yazsa okuyacağım çağdaş yazarlardan biri olmaya devam ediyor, umarım Histoire de la violence'i de çok geçmeden dilimizde görebiliriz.
June 4, 2023
Found this short book difficult to get through—I just didn't want to keep reading it.
Younger reviewers here like to mention that the topics of homophobia and poverty are important and relevant and of course that is completely true. It's just that the story of a bullied gay boy in his miserable small town is a story that has been told so many times; in fact, it used to be almost the only gay story ever told. It is a story I have read countless times, one I have lived through, and one I now tend to avoid. I am not denying its relevance; however I don't feel I need to relive the experience.
That's the background.
I primarily read for three purposes: entertainment, to learn things, or to revel in the beauty of the language. Unfortunately, none of those three applied here, and that is why the book was a chore to get through.
The reading experience started on a confusing note. Initially believed the book was fiction, only to discover it was the memoir of a person named Eddy Bellegueule (the original title was En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule). Even I know enough French to realize Bellegueule has a meaning—Pretty face? Nice Looking? In the text, when Eddy goes to high school people laugh at his name and it is translated as "Prettymug." Taking his name out of the title is awkward, especially when the book's epigraph is "For the first time my name said out loud names nothing."
The point of changing the name, or what he hoped to achieve, or the significance of the new name—none of that is touched upon in the text.
I realize my opinion of this book is unpopular. Perhaps I have just read too much Jean Genet.
Younger reviewers here like to mention that the topics of homophobia and poverty are important and relevant and of course that is completely true. It's just that the story of a bullied gay boy in his miserable small town is a story that has been told so many times; in fact, it used to be almost the only gay story ever told. It is a story I have read countless times, one I have lived through, and one I now tend to avoid. I am not denying its relevance; however I don't feel I need to relive the experience.
That's the background.
I primarily read for three purposes: entertainment, to learn things, or to revel in the beauty of the language. Unfortunately, none of those three applied here, and that is why the book was a chore to get through.
The reading experience started on a confusing note. Initially believed the book was fiction, only to discover it was the memoir of a person named Eddy Bellegueule (the original title was En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule). Even I know enough French to realize Bellegueule has a meaning—Pretty face? Nice Looking? In the text, when Eddy goes to high school people laugh at his name and it is translated as "Prettymug." Taking his name out of the title is awkward, especially when the book's epigraph is "For the first time my name said out loud names nothing."
The point of changing the name, or what he hoped to achieve, or the significance of the new name—none of that is touched upon in the text.
I realize my opinion of this book is unpopular. Perhaps I have just read too much Jean Genet.
October 8, 2022
Denne boka var triggende også for meg som har hatt en normal oppvekst uten traumer. Det var veldig grafiske beskrivelser av vold, med bruk av sterke bilder som brenn seg fast på netthinnen. Eg kjente meg tidvis kvalm og hadde lyst å ta en pause fra en verden som fra ditt verste mareritt. Måten forfatteren beskreiv grusomme hendelser på, var også tankevekkende. Det virka så tilforlatelig og vanlig, nesten som en nyhetsrapportasje, som igjen er et kunstgrep fordi du skjønner at denne kvardagen var vanlig for enkelte.
January 4, 2024
داستان از زبان پسری راجع به زندگی سخت مادرش بیان میشه.زندگی زن داستان پر از سختی و تلخی بود و چیزی که بیشتر ناراحتم میکرد اینه که از این زن ها دور و بر خودم هم زیاد دیدم، فقط امیدوارم هر زنی که توی همچین شرایطی زندگی میکنه همینقدر شهامت و فرصتش رو داشته باشه که بتونه خودش رو آزاد کنه و زندگیش رو تغییر بده:)
July 29, 2025
این لباسهای باکیفیت یا گرانقیمت نبود که خوشحالش کرده بود، او خوشحال بود از اینکه به زنی تبدیل شده که خودش لباس میخرد.
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