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Her Father's Daughter
A little girl lives happily with her mother in war-torn Paris. She has never met her father, a prisoner of war in Germany. But then he returns and her mother switches her devotion to her husband. The girl realises that she must win over her father to recover her position in the family. She confides a secret that will change their lives.
149 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2005
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June 27, 2016
Originally issued in 2005, Her Father’s Daughter was French author Marie Sizun’s first of seven novels, published when she was 65. It’s an autobiographical reflection on a painful experience from her childhood: in 1945, when she was four and a half, the father she had never met returned from the war and reentered the family, only to leave again two years later. That is the essential storyline of this spare novella, told from the perspective of a four-year-old girl whose name is France but who is usually just referred to as “the child.”
“Of the outside world, the child still knows pretty much nothing.” Her universe is limited to her Paris neighborhood and apartment; her mother, Liliane (Li), is the star around which she orbits. Li gives her daughter free rein, even leaving her alone in the apartment while she goes shopping. When the child learns that her father, a prisoner of war, is soon to return from Germany, she is anxious and resentful. The “secret, intimate world” she has with her mother looks fragile, and she is jealous of anyone who tries to encroach. Meanwhile her father and grandmother both think France has been spoiled and seek to instill a new sense of discipline.
There’s a secret at the heart of the book, something big that the mother and grandmother are covering up. It involves a trip to Normandy, yet whenever the girl tries to speak of the event later on, they deny it and tell her she’s only dreaming. My favorite passages of the book recount her helpless anger as she tries to expose their lies: “Fury from the child, who ploughs on, incredulous. Protests. Persists. In vain.” All she can do in retaliation for this deception and the increasing tension between her parents is pour her mother’s perfumes down the sink.
Sizun’s style is characterized by short, simple phrases. The child is not the narrator, yet the prose imitates the straightforward language that a child might use: “A very strange thing for the child, having a father. A father who’s there. At home. All the time. Morning, noon and night.” The compact chapters chronicle the family’s descent into silence, ignoring each other and walking away – which eventually the father does for good.
Peirene issues books in trios. This one is part of the “Fairy Tale: End of Innocence” series, along with The Man I Became by Peter Verhelst. It’s interesting to think about the book in that context, with the Eden of the mother and daughter being shattered by the entry of the father. “Fathers are found in fairy tales, and they’re always slightly unreal and not very kind,” the child thinks. Unfortunately, I found this novella to be slightly monotonous, with a particularly flat ending. I’ll leave you with a few words from the author about what she was trying to do with the book:
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
“Of the outside world, the child still knows pretty much nothing.” Her universe is limited to her Paris neighborhood and apartment; her mother, Liliane (Li), is the star around which she orbits. Li gives her daughter free rein, even leaving her alone in the apartment while she goes shopping. When the child learns that her father, a prisoner of war, is soon to return from Germany, she is anxious and resentful. The “secret, intimate world” she has with her mother looks fragile, and she is jealous of anyone who tries to encroach. Meanwhile her father and grandmother both think France has been spoiled and seek to instill a new sense of discipline.
There’s a secret at the heart of the book, something big that the mother and grandmother are covering up. It involves a trip to Normandy, yet whenever the girl tries to speak of the event later on, they deny it and tell her she’s only dreaming. My favorite passages of the book recount her helpless anger as she tries to expose their lies: “Fury from the child, who ploughs on, incredulous. Protests. Persists. In vain.” All she can do in retaliation for this deception and the increasing tension between her parents is pour her mother’s perfumes down the sink.
Sizun’s style is characterized by short, simple phrases. The child is not the narrator, yet the prose imitates the straightforward language that a child might use: “A very strange thing for the child, having a father. A father who’s there. At home. All the time. Morning, noon and night.” The compact chapters chronicle the family’s descent into silence, ignoring each other and walking away – which eventually the father does for good.
Peirene issues books in trios. This one is part of the “Fairy Tale: End of Innocence” series, along with The Man I Became by Peter Verhelst. It’s interesting to think about the book in that context, with the Eden of the mother and daughter being shattered by the entry of the father. “Fathers are found in fairy tales, and they’re always slightly unreal and not very kind,” the child thinks. Unfortunately, I found this novella to be slightly monotonous, with a particularly flat ending. I’ll leave you with a few words from the author about what she was trying to do with the book:
I needed to tell this story. To speak about that wound. … As my writing progressed and the book took shape, I felt this therapy wasn’t only for my personal use but spoke to everyone who, like me, may have been immersed in misunderstandings, in emotional distortions with loved ones, for example being forced to choose between a father and a mother.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
November 21, 2018
Marie Sizun's novella, Her Father's Daughter, is the twentieth title on independent publisher Peirene Press' list. Part of the Fairy Tale series, it is described as 'a taut and subtle family drama', and has been translated from its original French by Adriana Hunter. Her Father's Daughter is Sizun's debut work, written when she was 65, and first published in 2005. The novella was longlisted for the prestigious Prix Femina.
Her Father's Daughter is set in a Paris in the grip of the Second World War. A small girl named France is content, living solely with her mother in their apartment; that is, until her father returns from his prisoner of war camp in Germany. At this point, 'the mother shifts her devotion to her husband. The girl realizes that she must win over her father to recover her position in the family. She reveals a secret that will change their lives.' Meike Ziervogel, the founder of Peirene Press, writes that here, Sizun presents 'a rare examination of the bonds and boundaries between father and daughter.'
An omniscient perspective has been used throughout, in which each member of the family is referred to largely using the title of their familial position, and their relation to France. France, for instance, is just 'the girl' for the majority of the book, and we also become acquainted with her 'the mother', 'the father', and 'the grandmother'. Of the decision to largely omit given names, Sizun writes: 'But no one remembers now [that the little girl is called France]... They just call her "the child", that's enough. As for calling her name to summon her, to make her come back, that never happens: the child is always there, close by, under her mother's feet, or consumed with waiting for her.'
The novella begins as France hears a radio announcement, in which her father's position in the camp is lamented by her mother. At this point, something shifts for the little girl: 'She would normally be enjoying this peaceful moment spent with her mother, in the small kitchen warmed by the heat of her ironing. But right there, in what her mother said, in those words, something loomed before her, something quite new.' At this point, Sizun goes on to say: 'And it's this secret, intimate world, their world for just the two of them, that the child can suddenly feel slipping away.'
Given that France is just four-and-a-half years old, she has no memory whatsoever of her father; her only points of reference are the photographs dotted around their apartment. Of fathers, and France's opinion of them, Sizun writes: 'Fathers are found in fairy tales, and they're always slightly unreal and not very kind. Or else they're dead, distant, weak, and much less interesting than their daughters and their sons, who are brimming with courage, spirit and good looks.'
When her parents are first reunited, after rather a traumatic journey, to see her father in the Paris hospital he is being treated in, France soon realises that she has been overlooked: 'How long will this performance last? The child now feels as if time, which went by so swiftly earlier, has stopped, as if she's been here for hours, sitting on the end of this bed. She's been forgotten. They don't see her. She's disappeared. She's not in this world.' When he returns home, it soon becomes clear that her father's temperament is tumultuous, and unsteady: 'His words are always rather knowing, but never the same: gentle one minute, abrupt the next, tender with the mother one minute, formal with the child the next. And then suddenly aggressive. Brutal. Violent.' After a while has passed, the family dynamics begin to shift beyond France's comprehension: 'The child may now have a father but, on the other hand, she might as well no longer have a mother. Because as if by magic her mother is reduced to being a docile wife to her husband, his sweetheart, his servant.'
The structure of Her Father's Daughter, which uses short, unmarked chapters, works well. The prose, which is relatively spare, but poetic for the most part, makes the story a highly immersive one. Her Father's Daughter is easy to read, but there is a brooding, unsettling feeling which infuses the whole. Sizun is entirely revealing about the complexities embedded in relationships. Powerful examinations of family are present throughout the novella, along with musings about what it really means to know someone. Even though her protagonist is so young, this is, essentially, a coming-of-age story, where very adult situations are interpreted through the eyes of a child, who has no choice but to learn a great deal about her family, and about herself.
Sizun is a searingly perceptive author, who demonstrates such understanding of her young protagonist. Her Father's Daughter is an incredibly human novella, which has been masterfully crafted; it is difficult, in many ways, to believe that it is a debut work, so polished does it feel. The novella is well situated historically, and is highly thought-provoking.
Her Father's Daughter is set in a Paris in the grip of the Second World War. A small girl named France is content, living solely with her mother in their apartment; that is, until her father returns from his prisoner of war camp in Germany. At this point, 'the mother shifts her devotion to her husband. The girl realizes that she must win over her father to recover her position in the family. She reveals a secret that will change their lives.' Meike Ziervogel, the founder of Peirene Press, writes that here, Sizun presents 'a rare examination of the bonds and boundaries between father and daughter.'
An omniscient perspective has been used throughout, in which each member of the family is referred to largely using the title of their familial position, and their relation to France. France, for instance, is just 'the girl' for the majority of the book, and we also become acquainted with her 'the mother', 'the father', and 'the grandmother'. Of the decision to largely omit given names, Sizun writes: 'But no one remembers now [that the little girl is called France]... They just call her "the child", that's enough. As for calling her name to summon her, to make her come back, that never happens: the child is always there, close by, under her mother's feet, or consumed with waiting for her.'
The novella begins as France hears a radio announcement, in which her father's position in the camp is lamented by her mother. At this point, something shifts for the little girl: 'She would normally be enjoying this peaceful moment spent with her mother, in the small kitchen warmed by the heat of her ironing. But right there, in what her mother said, in those words, something loomed before her, something quite new.' At this point, Sizun goes on to say: 'And it's this secret, intimate world, their world for just the two of them, that the child can suddenly feel slipping away.'
Given that France is just four-and-a-half years old, she has no memory whatsoever of her father; her only points of reference are the photographs dotted around their apartment. Of fathers, and France's opinion of them, Sizun writes: 'Fathers are found in fairy tales, and they're always slightly unreal and not very kind. Or else they're dead, distant, weak, and much less interesting than their daughters and their sons, who are brimming with courage, spirit and good looks.'
When her parents are first reunited, after rather a traumatic journey, to see her father in the Paris hospital he is being treated in, France soon realises that she has been overlooked: 'How long will this performance last? The child now feels as if time, which went by so swiftly earlier, has stopped, as if she's been here for hours, sitting on the end of this bed. She's been forgotten. They don't see her. She's disappeared. She's not in this world.' When he returns home, it soon becomes clear that her father's temperament is tumultuous, and unsteady: 'His words are always rather knowing, but never the same: gentle one minute, abrupt the next, tender with the mother one minute, formal with the child the next. And then suddenly aggressive. Brutal. Violent.' After a while has passed, the family dynamics begin to shift beyond France's comprehension: 'The child may now have a father but, on the other hand, she might as well no longer have a mother. Because as if by magic her mother is reduced to being a docile wife to her husband, his sweetheart, his servant.'
The structure of Her Father's Daughter, which uses short, unmarked chapters, works well. The prose, which is relatively spare, but poetic for the most part, makes the story a highly immersive one. Her Father's Daughter is easy to read, but there is a brooding, unsettling feeling which infuses the whole. Sizun is entirely revealing about the complexities embedded in relationships. Powerful examinations of family are present throughout the novella, along with musings about what it really means to know someone. Even though her protagonist is so young, this is, essentially, a coming-of-age story, where very adult situations are interpreted through the eyes of a child, who has no choice but to learn a great deal about her family, and about herself.
Sizun is a searingly perceptive author, who demonstrates such understanding of her young protagonist. Her Father's Daughter is an incredibly human novella, which has been masterfully crafted; it is difficult, in many ways, to believe that it is a debut work, so polished does it feel. The novella is well situated historically, and is highly thought-provoking.
November 17, 2018
3 and 1/2 stars
Wonderful little story told from the viewpoint of a 4 1/2 year old girl. The story is a reflection on a painful experience from the author's childhood.
The child comes to love the father she has never met, due to war, and, wanting to share with him, she unknowingly reveals something that rocks the family's world.
She remembers, and it is only then that she realizes her father is dead. That she understands it.
She understands she’ll never be able to call him again. She’ll never talk to him again. Never hear him again. Never again hear that voice.
And it’s now too late to understand each other.
Excerpt From
Her Father's Daughter
Marie Sizun
Wonderful little story told from the viewpoint of a 4 1/2 year old girl. The story is a reflection on a painful experience from the author's childhood.
The child comes to love the father she has never met, due to war, and, wanting to share with him, she unknowingly reveals something that rocks the family's world.
She remembers, and it is only then that she realizes her father is dead. That she understands it.
She understands she’ll never be able to call him again. She’ll never talk to him again. Never hear him again. Never again hear that voice.
And it’s now too late to understand each other.
Excerpt From
Her Father's Daughter
Marie Sizun
March 25, 2017
This novella is told from the perspective of a young child in France whose father, a stranger to her, is returning from war. Since we only hear the child's narrative many of the pivotal events are rather unclear. We don't ever get the facts as we would expect but rather we are left with the impressions of the child. It gives the work a dreamlike quality. This is the second book in the Fairy Tale Series by Peirene Press. 3.5 stars
November 13, 2022
Desperately sad.
July 17, 2017
4,5 zvaigznes. Un kāpēc pieaugušajiem šķiet, ka bērns neko nesaprot - to es nesaprotu joprojām. Arī man ir bijusi līdzīga sāpe kā šīs grāmatas varonei. Arī es bērnībā gribēju, lai man izskaidro/paskaidro visu, kas notiek man apkārt, lai mamma man paskaidro savas asaras.
Iespējams, bērni daudzas lietas nespēj ietērpt vārdos, bet viņi visu redz un jūt. Par to ir šī grāmata. Mazliet atgādināja Māras Zālītes grāmatu "Pieci pirksti", kas arī veidota no bērna perspektīvas.
Iespējams, bērni daudzas lietas nespēj ietērpt vārdos, bet viņi visu redz un jūt. Par to ir šī grāmata. Mazliet atgādināja Māras Zālītes grāmatu "Pieci pirksti", kas arī veidota no bērna perspektīvas.
November 16, 2018
Poignant account of how a five-year-old experiences and views the unfolding family dynamics when the father she never knew, comes home.
I loved the fact that the child is unable to understand the situation, nor able to label her emotions as she is too young, and so they are described to the reader through her simple observations.
We are never told the "why" behind anything, but are subtly made to understand as the child relates how she becomes aware of awkward silences, whispers behind closed doors and funny looks.
What a wonderful way to narrate a story.
I loved the fact that the child is unable to understand the situation, nor able to label her emotions as she is too young, and so they are described to the reader through her simple observations.
We are never told the "why" behind anything, but are subtly made to understand as the child relates how she becomes aware of awkward silences, whispers behind closed doors and funny looks.
What a wonderful way to narrate a story.
December 7, 2020
This book blew me away. Need to read more by this author.
February 24, 2019
Really sad!!! Some incredibly touching descriptions of the father-daughter bond from the daughter's point of view. Obviously thought of my own dad when reading this!
October 8, 2016
I loved this book. It is simple and sparse and yet utterly moving. The story is told from the perspective of “the child” (she does have a name but it’s rarely used) – a young girl living in Paris during the Second World War. She is the apple of her mother’s eye and despite the Nazi occupation is utterly happy in her little world. Then the father she has never met comes home from the POW camp and the fight for affection begins.
Sizun brilliantly depicts the changing relationships – between mother and child; between father and child; between mother and father; between grandmother and child – against a backdrop of the occupation of Paris ending, and then the war itself ending. Though the child is not the narrator, her perspective filters the story to its essential parts. This at times almost reads like poetry, it’s so distilled. But it isn’t at all abstract in the way that poetry can be. A beautiful, quick read.
Sizun brilliantly depicts the changing relationships – between mother and child; between father and child; between mother and father; between grandmother and child – against a backdrop of the occupation of Paris ending, and then the war itself ending. Though the child is not the narrator, her perspective filters the story to its essential parts. This at times almost reads like poetry, it’s so distilled. But it isn’t at all abstract in the way that poetry can be. A beautiful, quick read.
January 1, 2018
The main character is a girl named France, four years old growing up in occupied Paris, she is cared for by her mother and the two share a special relationship, interrupted by their grandmother's visits. France's, father who had picked her name, is a prisoner of war in Germany (as we learn later, he was working on a farm. more a throwaway remark) though the mother calls her darling rather than her given name. With her mother, she is a bit spoiled much to the dislike of the grandmother.
The mother, daughter and grandmother have a brief holiday in Normandy but France is told that the events of this holiday must be kept secret, especially to her father, who is returned home from Germany after pnemonia hit him while the war is still being fought.
When the father is home, the relationship between mother and daughter changes, her whole routine is changed and she no longer has the special place in her mother's life which she considers that her mother lied when she promised she would. At the dinner table, as she hears reports of landings in Normandy, France says "I was there" much to the aghast looks of mother and grandmother.
This is quite a short novel (which I understand is Peirene's focus in short novels to be devoured in one sitting.
This is about the relationship between father and daughter, secret. It is quite a good read, written from the young girls point of view
The mother, daughter and grandmother have a brief holiday in Normandy but France is told that the events of this holiday must be kept secret, especially to her father, who is returned home from Germany after pnemonia hit him while the war is still being fought.
When the father is home, the relationship between mother and daughter changes, her whole routine is changed and she no longer has the special place in her mother's life which she considers that her mother lied when she promised she would. At the dinner table, as she hears reports of landings in Normandy, France says "I was there" much to the aghast looks of mother and grandmother.
This is quite a short novel (which I understand is Peirene's focus in short novels to be devoured in one sitting.
This is about the relationship between father and daughter, secret. It is quite a good read, written from the young girls point of view
December 26, 2021
4.5 stars.
I knew very little about this book going into it, found it in the fiction section of a bookshop and was intrigued by the cover and blurb.
Overall, it was a beautiful story, beautifully narrated by an omniscient narrator from the point of view of a young child. The presentation of emotion and protrayal of the child's understanding of the relationships surrounding her was very well done. The novella explores the idea of what it means to have a father and what that looks like from a place of 'helpless' vulnerability, what it looks like if you've that expectation and dependence and it's not entirely fulfilled.
It's a beautiful narrative about life, and I love Sizun's comparison between deception and a child being told that reality is a dream, as she tries to walk that boundary line. The text tackles a couple of themes of the grief of lost expectation and (quite unexpectedly for me) a later bereavement. I wish that this theme had been given a little more time, though it did provide an interesting and touching conclusion.
"The child's real universe, her entire world and the only imaginable world, is her mother."
"The child feels a helpless trust."
"She throws herself into her father's arms. He's amazed by this show of emotion. He doesn't understand. He's already gone."
I knew very little about this book going into it, found it in the fiction section of a bookshop and was intrigued by the cover and blurb.
Overall, it was a beautiful story, beautifully narrated by an omniscient narrator from the point of view of a young child. The presentation of emotion and protrayal of the child's understanding of the relationships surrounding her was very well done. The novella explores the idea of what it means to have a father and what that looks like from a place of 'helpless' vulnerability, what it looks like if you've that expectation and dependence and it's not entirely fulfilled.
It's a beautiful narrative about life, and I love Sizun's comparison between deception and a child being told that reality is a dream, as she tries to walk that boundary line. The text tackles a couple of themes of the grief of lost expectation and (quite unexpectedly for me) a later bereavement. I wish that this theme had been given a little more time, though it did provide an interesting and touching conclusion.
"The child's real universe, her entire world and the only imaginable world, is her mother."
"The child feels a helpless trust."
"She throws herself into her father's arms. He's amazed by this show of emotion. He doesn't understand. He's already gone."
January 7, 2024
Je zou het kunnen zien als een mooi verhaal over de liefde van een meisje voor haar vader, verteld vanuit het perspectief van het kind. Maar voor mij is het veel en veel meer dan dat.
Om te beginnen is er de opvoedingsproblematiek... de moeder die het kind om zo te zeggen "rot bederft", en de grootmoeder die daar niet mee akkoord gaat, en dan die vader die terugkomt uit een kamp van oorlogsgevangenen en het kind heel streng aanpakt, al dan niet ten onrechte.
En dan is er de relatiebreuk tussen man en vrouw ten gevolge van de ontrouw van de echtgenote tijdens de gevangenschap van haar man.
Al bij al gaat het dus volledig om de gemengde gevoelens en de verwarring van een kind dat heen en weer geschud wordt binnen de problematiek van de volwassenen en in feite niets anders verlangt dan liefde, aandacht en begrip.
Om te beginnen is er de opvoedingsproblematiek... de moeder die het kind om zo te zeggen "rot bederft", en de grootmoeder die daar niet mee akkoord gaat, en dan die vader die terugkomt uit een kamp van oorlogsgevangenen en het kind heel streng aanpakt, al dan niet ten onrechte.
En dan is er de relatiebreuk tussen man en vrouw ten gevolge van de ontrouw van de echtgenote tijdens de gevangenschap van haar man.
Al bij al gaat het dus volledig om de gemengde gevoelens en de verwarring van een kind dat heen en weer geschud wordt binnen de problematiek van de volwassenen en in feite niets anders verlangt dan liefde, aandacht en begrip.
April 1, 2018
There is something quite enjoyable about the style of this book. It packs quite a lot into the story, but as it is viewed through the eyes of a young girl the reader has to put things together in a way that she can’t. I found myself cringing at times but her actions were also understandable. I particularly enjoyed the epilogue
December 21, 2017
A poetic story about a girl’s love for her father whom she only meets when he returns home.
Reviewed on The BookBlast® Diary 2017
Reviewed on The BookBlast® Diary 2017
March 12, 2019
4.5 stars
June 28, 2021
Thought provoking. But also somewhat distant. Worth reading.
June 13, 2016
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher.
France is four and a half years old little girl, growing up in war time France with her mother. Her father left to fight in World War II when she was an infant, so she only knows him through photographs. In fact, the very concept of a father is alien to her because there are not other examples of fathers to which she is exposed. I was immediately captivated by this short book and drawn into this small child’s recollections about the war and its lasting effects on her family.
Despite the fact that there is war raging on around her, France’s world is very small and happy. She lives with her mother in a two room apartment in occupied Paris and as a spoiled and indulged child she does whatever she pleases. She draws on the walls of her apartment, draws in books, sings at the top of her lungs and has awful table manners. Her mother showers her with constant attention and affection and calls her “my darling.” Her grandmother, who seems to the chid like a cold-hearted disciplinarian, visits France and her mother often but the child has no affection for her. In fact, the child gets rather jealous when her mother and grandmother are talking privately to each other the child does everything she can to interrupt them.
One day France’s mother causally mentions that daddy is coming home. France goes into a panic because she knows, rightly so, that her cozy world with her mother will never be the same. When she meets daddy for the first time she is reticent and fearful. Her father was captured by the Germans and spent years in a German prisoner of war camp. When he is finally able to come home from the hospital, all of France’s routines are completely shattered. Her father loses his temper easily at the ill manners of his small child. When she refuses to finish her dinner he slaps her and when she throws a fit he makes her sit out in the hallway of the apartment by herself. France develops a contempt for her mother for her once beloved who does not intervene on her behalf. But at the same France gradually develops a fondness for her father.
Once he is able to settle his anger and impatience, France’s father is able to show her affection and attention. He begins painting with her and telling her stories. The transformation of this heartwarming father-daughter relationship was my favorite part of the book. As France begins to trust her father, she confides in him a secret about her mother that has been bothering her for a long time. This secret is what finally manages to break apart what was already a fragile marriage. When France’s father moves out and remarries, she must once again navigate the world without a consistent father figure in her life.
I found this book to be clever in its dealing with the point of view of a child. The entire story is seen through the child’s eyes, yet the narrator also interprets for us the underlying feelings and emotions of the child, so we get a deeper glimpse into the thoughts of her life and her surroundings. The sentences are short and sometimes only a word or two which is fitting for a narrator who is a small child. And throughout the book she is rarely called by her name but instead she is referred to as “the child,” as if she were unimportant, a non-entity to the adults around her. This is another beautiful and powerful book from Peirene Press and it gave me a new perspective about the tragedies of war and how they affect the youngest and most vulnerable among us.
This is the second book in the Peirene Fairy Tale series. I am always eager to read another Peirene and this book was absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait for the third, and final book, in the Fairy Tale selections.
France is four and a half years old little girl, growing up in war time France with her mother. Her father left to fight in World War II when she was an infant, so she only knows him through photographs. In fact, the very concept of a father is alien to her because there are not other examples of fathers to which she is exposed. I was immediately captivated by this short book and drawn into this small child’s recollections about the war and its lasting effects on her family.
Despite the fact that there is war raging on around her, France’s world is very small and happy. She lives with her mother in a two room apartment in occupied Paris and as a spoiled and indulged child she does whatever she pleases. She draws on the walls of her apartment, draws in books, sings at the top of her lungs and has awful table manners. Her mother showers her with constant attention and affection and calls her “my darling.” Her grandmother, who seems to the chid like a cold-hearted disciplinarian, visits France and her mother often but the child has no affection for her. In fact, the child gets rather jealous when her mother and grandmother are talking privately to each other the child does everything she can to interrupt them.
One day France’s mother causally mentions that daddy is coming home. France goes into a panic because she knows, rightly so, that her cozy world with her mother will never be the same. When she meets daddy for the first time she is reticent and fearful. Her father was captured by the Germans and spent years in a German prisoner of war camp. When he is finally able to come home from the hospital, all of France’s routines are completely shattered. Her father loses his temper easily at the ill manners of his small child. When she refuses to finish her dinner he slaps her and when she throws a fit he makes her sit out in the hallway of the apartment by herself. France develops a contempt for her mother for her once beloved who does not intervene on her behalf. But at the same France gradually develops a fondness for her father.
Once he is able to settle his anger and impatience, France’s father is able to show her affection and attention. He begins painting with her and telling her stories. The transformation of this heartwarming father-daughter relationship was my favorite part of the book. As France begins to trust her father, she confides in him a secret about her mother that has been bothering her for a long time. This secret is what finally manages to break apart what was already a fragile marriage. When France’s father moves out and remarries, she must once again navigate the world without a consistent father figure in her life.
I found this book to be clever in its dealing with the point of view of a child. The entire story is seen through the child’s eyes, yet the narrator also interprets for us the underlying feelings and emotions of the child, so we get a deeper glimpse into the thoughts of her life and her surroundings. The sentences are short and sometimes only a word or two which is fitting for a narrator who is a small child. And throughout the book she is rarely called by her name but instead she is referred to as “the child,” as if she were unimportant, a non-entity to the adults around her. This is another beautiful and powerful book from Peirene Press and it gave me a new perspective about the tragedies of war and how they affect the youngest and most vulnerable among us.
This is the second book in the Peirene Fairy Tale series. I am always eager to read another Peirene and this book was absolutely fantastic. I can’t wait for the third, and final book, in the Fairy Tale selections.
May 27, 2016
Her Father’s Daughter, by Marie Sizun (translated by Adriana Hunter), is the second in a series from the publisher titled Fairy Tale: End of Innocence. Peirene Press publishes these series of contemporary novellas, each consisting of three books chosen from across the world connected by a single theme. TLS described them as “Two-hour books to be devoured in a single sitting: literary cinema for those fatigued by film.”
This story is set in Paris at the close of the Second World War. It centres around a child, not yet old enough to attend school, who lives in a small apartment with her beautiful mother. It is told from the girl’s perspective but with the clarity of an adult’s mind. It is memory, those fragments of a life that stay with us when others are lost to the passing of time. The events related will change the child’s life forever, in ways that she could not then comprehend.
Referred to by all she knows as ‘the child’, or ‘my darling’, she was given the name France at the dictate of a father she has never met. He is a prisoner of war, taken early in the conflict. The war is now coming to an end and he is to return.
France’s days revolve around her mother. She has been allowed to act as she pleases, drawing on walls and in books, eating only the food she enjoys, her unruly existence indulged. France resents any who distract her mother: neighbours, acquaintances, and most especially her maternal grandmother who berates her daughter for the child’s behaviour. France likes best to stay home, to have her mother to herself. Although they go to the park or to shops, she has only once left Paris. This was to stay in a house in Normandy, with a garden, but memories of that time are hazy and she is forbidden to mention them.
When France is told that her father is to return she understands that the life she has enjoyed is about to change. She cannot imagine having a man in their home; this is beyond her experience.
“What is a father? […] Father’s, these days, are pretty thin on the ground”
When her father moves into the apartment the dynamics of the little family must adapt. He is still suffering the effects of his incarceration, is appalled at France’s behaviour and the way his wife has kept house. France observes how her parents behave when together and how her mother has been altered, shrunk. France desires nothing more now than to win her father’s affection for herself.
What the reader is offered is a view of the strange world of adults through the eyes of a child, the hurts and resentments harboured when ignored or reprimanded, the promises made and then forgotten. France attempts to draw her father closer by sharing her innermost secrets. In doing so she emits a seismic blow to the fragile peace so carefully constructed from her father’s return.
The writing is subtle and exquisite, a literary ballet offering a poignancy and depth beneath the delicacy of presentation. Each short episode leaves the reader eager for the next. I couldn’t put this book down.
A stunning, beautiful read that is everything a story should be. I cannot recomend this book enough.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Peirene Press.
This story is set in Paris at the close of the Second World War. It centres around a child, not yet old enough to attend school, who lives in a small apartment with her beautiful mother. It is told from the girl’s perspective but with the clarity of an adult’s mind. It is memory, those fragments of a life that stay with us when others are lost to the passing of time. The events related will change the child’s life forever, in ways that she could not then comprehend.
Referred to by all she knows as ‘the child’, or ‘my darling’, she was given the name France at the dictate of a father she has never met. He is a prisoner of war, taken early in the conflict. The war is now coming to an end and he is to return.
France’s days revolve around her mother. She has been allowed to act as she pleases, drawing on walls and in books, eating only the food she enjoys, her unruly existence indulged. France resents any who distract her mother: neighbours, acquaintances, and most especially her maternal grandmother who berates her daughter for the child’s behaviour. France likes best to stay home, to have her mother to herself. Although they go to the park or to shops, she has only once left Paris. This was to stay in a house in Normandy, with a garden, but memories of that time are hazy and she is forbidden to mention them.
When France is told that her father is to return she understands that the life she has enjoyed is about to change. She cannot imagine having a man in their home; this is beyond her experience.
“What is a father? […] Father’s, these days, are pretty thin on the ground”
When her father moves into the apartment the dynamics of the little family must adapt. He is still suffering the effects of his incarceration, is appalled at France’s behaviour and the way his wife has kept house. France observes how her parents behave when together and how her mother has been altered, shrunk. France desires nothing more now than to win her father’s affection for herself.
What the reader is offered is a view of the strange world of adults through the eyes of a child, the hurts and resentments harboured when ignored or reprimanded, the promises made and then forgotten. France attempts to draw her father closer by sharing her innermost secrets. In doing so she emits a seismic blow to the fragile peace so carefully constructed from her father’s return.
The writing is subtle and exquisite, a literary ballet offering a poignancy and depth beneath the delicacy of presentation. Each short episode leaves the reader eager for the next. I couldn’t put this book down.
A stunning, beautiful read that is everything a story should be. I cannot recomend this book enough.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Peirene Press.
June 9, 2016
A girl and her mother, happy alone together in their small Paris apartment. Things however are about to change. The father she has never met is to return home after years being held as a prisoner of war. The girl is worried as to how she will interact with this stranger and is not happy to have to share her mother. In an attempt to bond with him she shares a secret, one which will change the course of their lives.
Given the name France by a patriotic father before she was born, but referred to throughout as ‘the girl’ the main protagonist is a four year old girl. Allowed to do pretty much as she pleases by an indulgent mother she struggles to comprehend the idea of a father, other than outside the fairy tales she knows. This strange man brings with him different smells and sounds, alters the atmosphere of the home and puts an end to her being able to behave as she wishes.
However it is the mother towards whom the child focuses her resentment. Her mother changes, is less affectionate with the child, more biddable and attentive to the father. She accepts his mood swings and sometimes violent actions and the girl cannot forgive her for this.
Conversely the girl becomes more eager to receive the attention of the father, happy to simply be in his presence but eager to contribute to their relationship. And so she asks about her secret, little realising the ramifications.
The resulting fallout leads to a different relationship with her father than she had perhaps expected but it is one that works for them.
Her Father’s Daughter is the second book in the Fairy Tale series to be published by Peirene and having read the book it is easy to see why it falls under this series. There is a fairy tale like quality to the story. Perhaps this is due to the lack of names given to characters, lending both a distance and a peculiar closeness to the tale. There are also of course the direct reference to fairy tales in the story, the ideal nuclear family in Goldilicks and the Three Bears, or referenced in the advertisements the girl sees dotted around the city.
There is also another parrallel to fairy tales in that the story contains morals, some more obvious and long running, others more fleeting. Concepts such as being careful what you wish for, of the trouble with being deceitful and what can happen as a result are both dealt with. As is the fact that we shouldn’t take anything for granted and to appreciate what we have, and who we have, whilst we can.
As with all of Peirene books this is a short novella, only 150 pages but those pages contain a well told, enveloping story with an undercurrent of tension, one which I think is more effective because of its brevity.
The translation is beautifully done, as I have come to expect from this publisher. It feels as if the magic and essence of the author’s original tale has been retained . If when reading a story you forget that you are reading translated fiction then I think the translator has done their job well. That is the case here.
Moving, engaging and thought-provoking. A beautiful addition to the Peirene family.
Given the name France by a patriotic father before she was born, but referred to throughout as ‘the girl’ the main protagonist is a four year old girl. Allowed to do pretty much as she pleases by an indulgent mother she struggles to comprehend the idea of a father, other than outside the fairy tales she knows. This strange man brings with him different smells and sounds, alters the atmosphere of the home and puts an end to her being able to behave as she wishes.
However it is the mother towards whom the child focuses her resentment. Her mother changes, is less affectionate with the child, more biddable and attentive to the father. She accepts his mood swings and sometimes violent actions and the girl cannot forgive her for this.
Conversely the girl becomes more eager to receive the attention of the father, happy to simply be in his presence but eager to contribute to their relationship. And so she asks about her secret, little realising the ramifications.
The resulting fallout leads to a different relationship with her father than she had perhaps expected but it is one that works for them.
Her Father’s Daughter is the second book in the Fairy Tale series to be published by Peirene and having read the book it is easy to see why it falls under this series. There is a fairy tale like quality to the story. Perhaps this is due to the lack of names given to characters, lending both a distance and a peculiar closeness to the tale. There are also of course the direct reference to fairy tales in the story, the ideal nuclear family in Goldilicks and the Three Bears, or referenced in the advertisements the girl sees dotted around the city.
There is also another parrallel to fairy tales in that the story contains morals, some more obvious and long running, others more fleeting. Concepts such as being careful what you wish for, of the trouble with being deceitful and what can happen as a result are both dealt with. As is the fact that we shouldn’t take anything for granted and to appreciate what we have, and who we have, whilst we can.
As with all of Peirene books this is a short novella, only 150 pages but those pages contain a well told, enveloping story with an undercurrent of tension, one which I think is more effective because of its brevity.
The translation is beautifully done, as I have come to expect from this publisher. It feels as if the magic and essence of the author’s original tale has been retained . If when reading a story you forget that you are reading translated fiction then I think the translator has done their job well. That is the case here.
Moving, engaging and thought-provoking. A beautiful addition to the Peirene family.
June 20, 2016
This is the third time I'm here wrangling my tech to post a review of 'Her Father's Daughter' by Marie Sizun. The book deserves it! First of all, let me just say Peirene Press's stuff is all gorgeous, and I love their concept of short novels that can (almost) be read in the time it would take to watch a movie. They bring out unusual literature -- works in translation that might not find their way to English language readers otherwise. I've admired what Peirene does for a while, and I had high expectations for 'Her Father's Daughter.' I'm pleased to say it met, then exceeded those expectations.
I am a big fan of coming-of-age fiction and of child narrators (sometimes unreliable narrators) who are discovering adult issues of substance. 'Her Father's Daughter' is not a coming-of-age, really, as the protagonist is only four -- too young to come of age, and too young, really to understand what's happening in her parents' marriage post WW2. She is certainly too young to understand her own complicity in some of the plot's major turning points. But understanding does begin to dawn, and in a very real way, young France both deflects and embraces her parents' attentions and her beginning comprehension of their difficulties. It's a lovely story of innocence lost, retained, regained, and redefined.
There are some odd blendings of tense throughout, which I imagine presented a challenge to translator Adriana Hunter, as she must have tried to remain true to the original French while untangling the twists only when truly necessary. The result is a sort of child's game or pleasant literary puzzle. The work is remarkable in its full spectrum and down to the sentence level.
One of the cover blurbs uses the word "taut" to describe the pace of the narrative, and I fully agree. "Taut and subtle." It's a little heartbreaking without leaving the reader heartbroken. It's fast without leaving the reader panting or rushed. It's beautiful in a way that resonates and seems to stick. All the more so, I think, in knowing that it's Marie Sizun's debut novel, which she wrote at age sixty-five. I definitely recommend this one.
I am a big fan of coming-of-age fiction and of child narrators (sometimes unreliable narrators) who are discovering adult issues of substance. 'Her Father's Daughter' is not a coming-of-age, really, as the protagonist is only four -- too young to come of age, and too young, really to understand what's happening in her parents' marriage post WW2. She is certainly too young to understand her own complicity in some of the plot's major turning points. But understanding does begin to dawn, and in a very real way, young France both deflects and embraces her parents' attentions and her beginning comprehension of their difficulties. It's a lovely story of innocence lost, retained, regained, and redefined.
There are some odd blendings of tense throughout, which I imagine presented a challenge to translator Adriana Hunter, as she must have tried to remain true to the original French while untangling the twists only when truly necessary. The result is a sort of child's game or pleasant literary puzzle. The work is remarkable in its full spectrum and down to the sentence level.
One of the cover blurbs uses the word "taut" to describe the pace of the narrative, and I fully agree. "Taut and subtle." It's a little heartbreaking without leaving the reader heartbroken. It's fast without leaving the reader panting or rushed. It's beautiful in a way that resonates and seems to stick. All the more so, I think, in knowing that it's Marie Sizun's debut novel, which she wrote at age sixty-five. I definitely recommend this one.
May 31, 2016
Picked this up as I can't resist these lovely Peirene books and I'm always up for a bit of insight into the father/daughter relationship having one of my own.
This was great - up there with Mussel Feast and Beside the Sea as memorable Peirene reads. Maybe it didn't quite have the emotional pull for me for 5 stars but that's coming off the back of Tolstoy and Steinbeck so maybe unfair that this book has to live up to those! The POV was interesting. Definitely from the 4 1/2 year old daughter's but with an adult mind there to describe complicated feelings in words that the child wouldn't necessarily have. For such a short story, quite a lot of action was packed in and yet it wasn't rushed. In fact, the book did a great job of conveying that aspect of childhood where everything seems to go on for ever and waiting for things is an arduous process.
Despite the adult commentary, I was still surprised at how much a child of that age took in and was aware of, based on my own experience of a 4 1/2 year old girl. But then, I'm taking that as a bit of instruction as to what children are really seeing of us parents - the book was convincing enough for me to have that much faith in it.
The end was sad but real and believable. No fireworks or massive revelations - maybe a Proustian moment at the end that the narrator/girl took forward into later life in a way that was hopeful and optimistic. I thought this book really felt like an authentic childhood memory - hazy round the edges, incomplete, based on feelings and smells and distorted objects that seemed enormous.
There was a message in there that I took away which was that although we think, as parents we have maybe 18 years to fit in all that meaningful relationship time and love with our children, more likely the window is frighteningly tiny and it doesn't pay to waste a minute of the time we have with out kids.
This was great - up there with Mussel Feast and Beside the Sea as memorable Peirene reads. Maybe it didn't quite have the emotional pull for me for 5 stars but that's coming off the back of Tolstoy and Steinbeck so maybe unfair that this book has to live up to those! The POV was interesting. Definitely from the 4 1/2 year old daughter's but with an adult mind there to describe complicated feelings in words that the child wouldn't necessarily have. For such a short story, quite a lot of action was packed in and yet it wasn't rushed. In fact, the book did a great job of conveying that aspect of childhood where everything seems to go on for ever and waiting for things is an arduous process.
Despite the adult commentary, I was still surprised at how much a child of that age took in and was aware of, based on my own experience of a 4 1/2 year old girl. But then, I'm taking that as a bit of instruction as to what children are really seeing of us parents - the book was convincing enough for me to have that much faith in it.
The end was sad but real and believable. No fireworks or massive revelations - maybe a Proustian moment at the end that the narrator/girl took forward into later life in a way that was hopeful and optimistic. I thought this book really felt like an authentic childhood memory - hazy round the edges, incomplete, based on feelings and smells and distorted objects that seemed enormous.
There was a message in there that I took away which was that although we think, as parents we have maybe 18 years to fit in all that meaningful relationship time and love with our children, more likely the window is frighteningly tiny and it doesn't pay to waste a minute of the time we have with out kids.
May 2, 2013
Elle a quatre ans et vit à Paris avec sa mère, pendant la seconde guerre mondiale. Elle se nomme France mais tout le monde l’appelle la petite. Sauf son père, prisonnier de guerre en Allemagne, qui avait choisi son prénom. La petite ne se souvient pas de lui, elle vit, heureuse et insouciante et voue un amour exclusif à sa mère, qui ne lui impose guère de limites. Lorsque le père revient à la fin de la guerre, la vie de France est bouleversée, sa mère n’est plus toute à elle et le père veut remettre de l’ordre dans la maisonnée. Les relations entre le père et la fille sont difficiles dans les premiers temps, puis s’apaisent. L’affection grandit entre les deux, France gagne en confiance et finit par partager avec son père un secret qu’elle gardait au fond d’elle. Un secret qu’elle n’a jamais vraiment bien compris, dont elle n’imagine pas l’impact, et qui, une fois connu du père, va bouleverser leur existence à tous.
C’est un roman que j’ai beaucoup aimé et qui est semble-t-il, inspiré par le vécu de l’auteur. Bien qu’écrit à la troisième personne, le texte porte la voix de l’enfant, sa perception de la guerre et son incompréhension des mystères des adultes. Après une vie insouciante au côté de sa mère et de sa grand-mère, la petite voit son univers perturbé par le retour du père. Ses sentiments pour sa mère évoluent, de l’amour inconditionnel à la jalousie et à la colère. Face à l’attention du père, s’installe une sorte de rivalité entre elles. Et puis l’enfant trouve un interlocuteur prêt à l’écouter lorsqu’elle raconte son secret alors que la mère et la grand-mère ont toujours été dans le déni et ont laissé l’enfant face à ses questions et ses angoisses. Mais la vérité n’est pas toujours bonne à dire et la vie de la petite en sera définitivement affectée.
C’est un roman que j’ai beaucoup aimé et qui est semble-t-il, inspiré par le vécu de l’auteur. Bien qu’écrit à la troisième personne, le texte porte la voix de l’enfant, sa perception de la guerre et son incompréhension des mystères des adultes. Après une vie insouciante au côté de sa mère et de sa grand-mère, la petite voit son univers perturbé par le retour du père. Ses sentiments pour sa mère évoluent, de l’amour inconditionnel à la jalousie et à la colère. Face à l’attention du père, s’installe une sorte de rivalité entre elles. Et puis l’enfant trouve un interlocuteur prêt à l’écouter lorsqu’elle raconte son secret alors que la mère et la grand-mère ont toujours été dans le déni et ont laissé l’enfant face à ses questions et ses angoisses. Mais la vérité n’est pas toujours bonne à dire et la vie de la petite en sera définitivement affectée.
May 8, 2016
A beautifully written exploration of "three's a crowd", takes place in wartime France, when the child's father returns from fighting. The child (also called France -- there's another reading of the book to consider...) does not remember the time when her father was present, and the family dynamic shifts and stirs in the now claustrophobic apartment. Told through the child's view, it captures well the difference in the world from adult and children's perspectives, where the relative importance of objects and events can differ enormously. We also get good sense of the adult mind states too, especially the father as he adjusts to recovery at home and getting to know his daughter.
This is the second book in Peirene's 2016 "Fairy tale: end of innocence" series. The link is subtle and clever -- this is no run-of-the-mill modern retelling, but rather takes and subverts some the themes (quests, returns, step-parents, awakenings) into a very relatable story. And like all good fairy tales, Freud is hovering somewhere nearby.
The book (in English translation by Adriana Hunter) is written with a deceptively light touch, as befits a child's view of the world, and is one of those well-paced books which doesn't outstay it's welcome which Peirene have come to specialise so well in.
This is the second book in Peirene's 2016 "Fairy tale: end of innocence" series. The link is subtle and clever -- this is no run-of-the-mill modern retelling, but rather takes and subverts some the themes (quests, returns, step-parents, awakenings) into a very relatable story. And like all good fairy tales, Freud is hovering somewhere nearby.
The book (in English translation by Adriana Hunter) is written with a deceptively light touch, as befits a child's view of the world, and is one of those well-paced books which doesn't outstay it's welcome which Peirene have come to specialise so well in.
August 23, 2016
The original title is Le Père de la petite. Interesting how the translation turns the situation around, foregrounding the daughter where the original foregrounds the father. And both titles fit: it's the story of a woman, remembering herself as a girl, and remembering her father.
The structure of this book is intriguing too: all those sentences about memory, with things being very present (and told in the present tense) and yet foretellings, foreshadowings, and speculations about what the girl will remember later, what stays and what drifts away over time. It emphasises the sometimes almost dream-like atmosphere and also calls attention to the mother and grandmother's statements about reality and fantasy (also connected to memory).
And even though the style is deceptively simple (I'm pretty sure I could read this book in French), the story isn't. But then stories connecting people, lovers, families... they are never simple, are they?
The structure of this book is intriguing too: all those sentences about memory, with things being very present (and told in the present tense) and yet foretellings, foreshadowings, and speculations about what the girl will remember later, what stays and what drifts away over time. It emphasises the sometimes almost dream-like atmosphere and also calls attention to the mother and grandmother's statements about reality and fantasy (also connected to memory).
And even though the style is deceptively simple (I'm pretty sure I could read this book in French), the story isn't. But then stories connecting people, lovers, families... they are never simple, are they?
June 8, 2016
The title, Her Father's Daughter, is apropos, portraying the essence of the story to come. It is not named My Father or My Father's Daughter. Instead the title foreshadows a disconnect, a severing, a grief for that which cannot be restored, that of a loving relationship between a father and his daughter. It is a beautiful telling, showing how the child evolves from possessive love of her mother to the cautious love of an unremembered father returning from war. But the war has brought back an injured man who at first is consumed with household order and stability. Eventually a loving relationship begins to unfold, until a discovered betrayal threatens it all. Oh, if fathers only knew how they hold in their hands the directional compass of their young daughters' lives.
September 29, 2010
Un très beau livre, une histoire délicate et émouvante avec une écriture toute en retenue. Tout est vu par les yeux de la petite fille (France). Qu'est-ce-que les mots d'une enfant ingénue peut avoir des conséquences graves!
November 17, 2025
Her Father’s Daughter is a poignant story of lost innocence, and of the casual mistreatment of children reminiscent of the psychoanalytic writings of Alice Miller.
Full review http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/...
Full review http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/...
June 12, 2016
In wartime Paris a child's father returns from a German prisoner of war camp. Written from the point of view of the child, we see the family dynamics change as the young girl's curiosity reveals her mother's wartime secret. A well paced beautifully written short novel.
July 21, 2017
A little to easy to see where the plot was going, without the tension to make that knowledge work. Its the infidelity of the mother is revealed almost at the beginning through a child's eye view of the birth of an illegitimate sibling. Probably not a book I would have picked dup on my own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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