What do you think?
Rate this book
Om lycka
"Man väljer inte att älska en flicka. Det är våldsamt. Det är instinkten. Det är huden som talar. Det är blodet som uttrycker sig. Jag har inte valt att älska Diane. Det är en fysisk lag. Det är en dragningskraft. Det är som Månen och Solen. Det är som stenen i vattnet. Det är som sommaren och snön. Det är naturhistorien. Det stannar kvar länge i kroppen. Det är oförglömligt. Det är ett rikt liv. Jag älskar Diane, jag är miljardär."
Med sina korta, starkt känsloladdade meningar beskriver Bouraoui inkännande den passionerade kärlekens våldsamhet, sällhet och vånda. Den fransk-algeriska författaren Nina Bouraoui, född 1967, räknas som en av Frankrikes mest betydande författare av idag. För Mina onda tankar belönades hon 2005 med det prestigefyllda Prix Renaudot.
Med sina korta, starkt känsloladdade meningar beskriver Bouraoui inkännande den passionerade kärlekens våldsamhet, sällhet och vånda. Den fransk-algeriska författaren Nina Bouraoui, född 1967, räknas som en av Frankrikes mest betydande författare av idag. För Mina onda tankar belönades hon 2005 med det prestigefyllda Prix Renaudot.
221 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2002
9 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Nina Bouraoui
29 books193 followersNina Bouraoui (born on 31 July 1967) is a French writer born in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, of an Algerian father and a French mother. She spent the first fourteen years of her life in Algiers, then Zürich and Abu Dhabi. She now lives in Paris.
Her novels are mostly written in the first person and, with the exception of Avant les hommes (Before the Men), have been said by the author to be works of "auto-fiction". This is even the case for Le Bal des Murènes (The ball of moray eels), which, like Avant les hommes, has a male narrator. Since writing her first novel in 1991, Bouraoui has affirmed the influence of Marguerite Duras in her work, although the life narratives and works many other artists are also to be found in her novels (and songs). This is particularly true of Mes Mauvaises Pensées (My Bad Thoughts) which bears the imprint of Hervé Guibert, Annie Ernaux, David Lynch, Eileen Gray, and Violette Leduc amongst others. Questions of identity, desire, memory, writing, childhood and celebrity culture are some of the major themes of her work.
Her novels are mostly written in the first person and, with the exception of Avant les hommes (Before the Men), have been said by the author to be works of "auto-fiction". This is even the case for Le Bal des Murènes (The ball of moray eels), which, like Avant les hommes, has a male narrator. Since writing her first novel in 1991, Bouraoui has affirmed the influence of Marguerite Duras in her work, although the life narratives and works many other artists are also to be found in her novels (and songs). This is particularly true of Mes Mauvaises Pensées (My Bad Thoughts) which bears the imprint of Hervé Guibert, Annie Ernaux, David Lynch, Eileen Gray, and Violette Leduc amongst others. Questions of identity, desire, memory, writing, childhood and celebrity culture are some of the major themes of her work.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 18, 2016
Mid-80s, subversive androgynous pop everywhere, AIDS scare, Marie finds herself sixteen years old in Zürich, well-off child of well-off parents with well-off friends, hormones surging all over the place, parents barely present if they're even in the same country. Parties, make-outs, music, VHS, alcohol, ski trips, discos, make-outs, alcohol...
Should be fun. The happy life of the title.
Except her young aunt is dying of cancer (hence her mother's absence), which is horrible, and while everyone else is pairing up Marie is helplessly in love with Diane, which is wonderful, but impossible. Diane, who the boys all say "oozes sex", who is happy to play with the idea and lead Marie on, but is either too straight or too chickenshit to not keep running back to her boyfriend, and can't understand why it's such a big deal for Marie who has everything to lose.
Man, how Bouraoui writes; obsessively sketches every conflicting emotion of grief and love and infatuation and desire and fear and hatred in a hailstorm of minute brushstrokes, short chapters, her narrator yanked back and forth in the storms of adolescence, love and self-discovery. And somehow, despite all the heartache, it still earns the title without necessarily going for the obvious happy ending.
Should be fun. The happy life of the title.
Except her young aunt is dying of cancer (hence her mother's absence), which is horrible, and while everyone else is pairing up Marie is helplessly in love with Diane, which is wonderful, but impossible. Diane, who the boys all say "oozes sex", who is happy to play with the idea and lead Marie on, but is either too straight or too chickenshit to not keep running back to her boyfriend, and can't understand why it's such a big deal for Marie who has everything to lose.
Man, how Bouraoui writes; obsessively sketches every conflicting emotion of grief and love and infatuation and desire and fear and hatred in a hailstorm of minute brushstrokes, short chapters, her narrator yanked back and forth in the storms of adolescence, love and self-discovery. And somehow, despite all the heartache, it still earns the title without necessarily going for the obvious happy ending.
December 23, 2024
Det går fort. Det är korta meningar. Man är inne i Maries huvud, hennes förälskelse i Diane. Som hon motsätter sig, först. Sedan ger efter, nästan. De är vilda, som ungdomar obestämda. Bouraoui lämnar alltid ett avtryck av sitt språk i mitt huvud, rytmen särskilt. Rytmen gör det hackigt, fragmentariskt. Kronologin är inte rak. Hennes moster är dödligt sjuk i cancer. De festar. De är på stranden, i Saint-Malo. Springfloden förstör. Jag var tvungen att slå upp ordet, nu vet jag mer. Jag bor inte vid det verkliga havet. Det är referenser, Michael Jackson, Sade, George Michael, Dynastin, skräckfilmer. 80-tal. Det är fint, och sorgligt.
November 12, 2016
Om att växa upp. Om vänskap, passion och döden. Om 80-talet, med många musik och film -referenser.
December 26, 2025
2.5
C'est certain, Bouraoui sait écrire l'esprit d'une adolescente, son intransigeance surtout. Alors qu'il y a des paragraphes qui réfléchissent bien autour des sujets de la mort, la maltraitance emotionelle et l'amitié, je n'ai pas eu l'impression de connaître les personnages et pourquoi j'étais censé.e m'interesser dans leurs vies et leurs sentiments. Peut-être que j'aurais mieux aimé ce bouquin si j'étais un.e adolescent.e toujours "closeted"...étant donné que je ne l'en suis plus, je trouvais le récit plutôt ennuyeux.
(Sure, Bouraoui knows how to write the mind of a teenager, especially its intransigence. But while there are some paragraphs that reflect well on death, emotional abuse, and friendship, I never felt like I got to know the characters or why I should care about their lives and emotions. Perhaps I would have liked this book better if I were still a closeted teen...since I'm not I thought it was rather annoying/boring).
C'est certain, Bouraoui sait écrire l'esprit d'une adolescente, son intransigeance surtout. Alors qu'il y a des paragraphes qui réfléchissent bien autour des sujets de la mort, la maltraitance emotionelle et l'amitié, je n'ai pas eu l'impression de connaître les personnages et pourquoi j'étais censé.e m'interesser dans leurs vies et leurs sentiments. Peut-être que j'aurais mieux aimé ce bouquin si j'étais un.e adolescent.e toujours "closeted"...étant donné que je ne l'en suis plus, je trouvais le récit plutôt ennuyeux.
(Sure, Bouraoui knows how to write the mind of a teenager, especially its intransigence. But while there are some paragraphs that reflect well on death, emotional abuse, and friendship, I never felt like I got to know the characters or why I should care about their lives and emotions. Perhaps I would have liked this book better if I were still a closeted teen...since I'm not I thought it was rather annoying/boring).
February 3, 2019
The happy life is above all a writing that sticks perfectly to adolescence, fleeting desires, tenacious grips, all devoured by the passion and haste of youth, feelings increased by short sentences and punctuated with music flash (-back for me).
The impulses of the heart of a teenager who is confronted with a rage of love.
"I think it's complicated to love a girl. It takes courage, strength, patience. (...) I think a lot of girls around the world wanted to die because of that. It's irresistible to love a girl. It's the body that vanishes "
" Certaines personnes restent à l'intérieur de nous. Elles existent dans ce qu'on est, dans ce que nous faisons, dans la manière dont nous aimons. Par elles, nous avons une façon de nous inscrire au monde et une façon de nous en retirer. Elles nous absorbent ou nous révèlent. Elles sont "magnétiques ". Je crois que Diane a agi de cette manière-là dans ma vie. Je crois qu'elle m'a protégée de l'enfer, puisque je n'ai jamais cessé de suivre ses opposés."
The impulses of the heart of a teenager who is confronted with a rage of love.
"I think it's complicated to love a girl. It takes courage, strength, patience. (...) I think a lot of girls around the world wanted to die because of that. It's irresistible to love a girl. It's the body that vanishes "
" Certaines personnes restent à l'intérieur de nous. Elles existent dans ce qu'on est, dans ce que nous faisons, dans la manière dont nous aimons. Par elles, nous avons une façon de nous inscrire au monde et une façon de nous en retirer. Elles nous absorbent ou nous révèlent. Elles sont "magnétiques ". Je crois que Diane a agi de cette manière-là dans ma vie. Je crois qu'elle m'a protégée de l'enfer, puisque je n'ai jamais cessé de suivre ses opposés."
August 31, 2024
j’ai beaucoup aimé l’écriture, le style, la prose. Il y a des phrases magnifiques et de très belles choses. Maintenant la première relation lesbienne impossible et l’amour toxique c’est un peu lourd, y’avait pleins de choses malsaines, des réflexions incestueuses tout le long du livre et d’autres scènes d’abus assez désagréables. Le livre date de 2002 il me semble donc voila on espère des évolutions entre temps. Les lesbiennes méritent mieux !
July 31, 2025
Ganska eländig bok detta också om homosexualitet, att vara beroende av en annan individ som nödvändigtvis inte behandlar en tillbaka på ett värdigt sätt. Om att bli och känna sig utnyttjad samt bearbetning av bortgång av familjemedlem. Vackert språk som bara kan skrivas på franska med målande och poetiska fraser.
”Tant que nous restons en vie, les mort ne meurent pas.”
”Tant que nous restons en vie, les mort ne meurent pas.”
July 6, 2018
Känner mig lika ointresserad av karaktärer och innehåll i den här boken som jag var av jämnåriga och deras intriger när jag själv var 16. (Svag 2:a)
April 20, 2022
que du love lisez-le je vous en supplie
October 17, 2023
c’est beau
Read
January 27, 2025ça m’a pris du temps de comprendre que c’était pas dans l’ordre mais j’ai fini par comprendre
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 5, 2011un beau livre sur l'adolescence et la recherche de soi, le propos est sensible et touchant, mais je n'ai pas pu m'empêcher de penser à plusieurs reprises "pauvre petite fille riche"
November 25, 2011
La force de ce roman est justement là, dans ce 'C'est moi Marie' qui se partage et ca finit à la perfection.
October 1, 2013
I'm giving this 3 stars for the few paragraphs of solid gold truth on pages 142-143, and chapter 83, which was really lovely. But mostly this didn't work for me.
December 5, 2020
Denna bok hade ett sånt "målande" språk med mycket känslor osv fast det egentligen inte händer så mycket. För mig var det alldeles för mycket runt omkring och jag gillar inte den typen av böcker.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews