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Femeia inventată
Vă numiți Claire, sunteți profesoară, aveți patruzeci și opt de ani și ați divorțat de curând. Pentru a vă urmări iubitul, pe Jo, vă creați un profil fals pe Facebook și deveniți o brunetă singură, de douăzeci și patru de ani. Numai că nu sunteți dumneavastră în fotografia acestei fete frumoase, dublul fictiv de care se îndrăgostește Christophe – KissChris.
Amețitor joc de oglinzi între real și virtual, Femeia inventată povestește legăturile primejdioase ale unei femei care nu vrea să renunțe la dorință.
„Un uimitor rechizitoriu al felului diferit în care sunt tratați femeile și bărbații atunci când îmbătrănesc.” - Libération
„Thriller psihologic scris cu mână de maestru, romanul cuprinde o reflecție asupra relațiilor pe care le stabilim în lumea de azi prin intermediul unui ecran.” - Paris Match
Amețitor joc de oglinzi între real și virtual, Femeia inventată povestește legăturile primejdioase ale unei femei care nu vrea să renunțe la dorință.
„Un uimitor rechizitoriu al felului diferit în care sunt tratați femeile și bărbații atunci când îmbătrănesc.” - Libération
„Thriller psihologic scris cu mână de maestru, romanul cuprinde o reflecție asupra relațiilor pe care le stabilim în lumea de azi prin intermediul unui ecran.” - Paris Match
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
28 people are currently reading
1162 people want to read
About the author
Camille Laurens
34 books145 followersCamille Laurens sur les hommes qu'elle décrit dans son livre..
Elle ne va pas à leur rencontre, du moins pas comme on pourrait croire. Elle ne fond pas sur eux pour les capter, les saisir, leur parler. Elle les regarde. Elle se replit de leur iamge comme un lac du reflet d'un ciel. Elle les maintient d'abord dans cette distance qui permet de les réfléchir. Les hommes restent donc là longtemps, en face d'elle. Elle les regarde, elle les observe, elle les contemple. Elle les voit toujours comme ces voyageurs assis vis-à-vis d'elle dans les trains maintenant rares où cette disposition existe encore : non pas à côté d'elle, dans le même sens, mais en face, de l'autre côté de la tablette où gît le livre qu'elle écrit. Ils se tiennent là. C'est le sexe opposé.
Elle ne va pas à leur rencontre, du moins pas comme on pourrait croire. Elle ne fond pas sur eux pour les capter, les saisir, leur parler. Elle les regarde. Elle se replit de leur iamge comme un lac du reflet d'un ciel. Elle les maintient d'abord dans cette distance qui permet de les réfléchir. Les hommes restent donc là longtemps, en face d'elle. Elle les regarde, elle les observe, elle les contemple. Elle les voit toujours comme ces voyageurs assis vis-à-vis d'elle dans les trains maintenant rares où cette disposition existe encore : non pas à côté d'elle, dans le même sens, mais en face, de l'autre côté de la tablette où gît le livre qu'elle écrit. Ils se tiennent là. C'est le sexe opposé.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
April 18, 2017
When I read the blurb for this book I got excited. I thought it sounded right up my alley.
*image ragey gif here that won't post for me*
It's soooo bad. Bad enough that I wanted to go back over all the years of one starring books and raise some of their scores because this was honestly that bad.
Before you get your panties all in a wad and your trolling fingers ready....I'll give you some examples of the writing.
You can imagine all sorts of things, you do imagine all sorts of things, you look at his new friends' profiles-both male and female-looking for a revelation in someone's posts; you decipher the tiniest comment, you keep cutting from one wall to another, you play back the songs he's listened to, read meaning into the lyrics, learn about what he likes, view his photos and videos, keep an eye on his geo-location, the events he's going to, you navigate like a submarine though an ocean of faces and words.
I swear that's one sentence!!
Here's another one.
And you can go ahead and do what the others did, deducing that I had God knows what sort of fusional relationship with my mother, an inability to break away, a castration complex and everything else.
Now if you read my reviews..you know that I AM NOT A WRITER..I use run on sentences, sentence fragments and I make up words...but I don't profess to be an author. Nooooo hell nooo on this crud. DNF and I have no shame!
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
*image ragey gif here that won't post for me*
It's soooo bad. Bad enough that I wanted to go back over all the years of one starring books and raise some of their scores because this was honestly that bad.
Before you get your panties all in a wad and your trolling fingers ready....I'll give you some examples of the writing.
You can imagine all sorts of things, you do imagine all sorts of things, you look at his new friends' profiles-both male and female-looking for a revelation in someone's posts; you decipher the tiniest comment, you keep cutting from one wall to another, you play back the songs he's listened to, read meaning into the lyrics, learn about what he likes, view his photos and videos, keep an eye on his geo-location, the events he's going to, you navigate like a submarine though an ocean of faces and words.
I swear that's one sentence!!
Here's another one.
And you can go ahead and do what the others did, deducing that I had God knows what sort of fusional relationship with my mother, an inability to break away, a castration complex and everything else.
Now if you read my reviews..you know that I AM NOT A WRITER..I use run on sentences, sentence fragments and I make up words...but I don't profess to be an author. Nooooo hell nooo on this crud. DNF and I have no shame!
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
March 31, 2017
2 Stars.
“Who You Think I Am” by Camille Laurens was confusing as all get out. After reading it, I have no idea who the main character, Claire Millecam a/k/a Claire Antunes, purported to be.
Formulating coherent thoughts about a book that was extremely hard to get into (and took me forever to do so because of it) and whose ending made no sense and also had me re-reading it, causing me to scratch my head and rub my eyes, has made me wonder if I read a different book than those who gave it 4 and/or 5 star reviews. For the first-time ever, I honestly don’t know what to say though I will do my best.
After a confusing start, the book does in fact take off quickly. I believe it starts with the main character, Claire Millecam narrating: she speaks in long run on sentences, describing her obsession with her boyfriend Joe, who is a narcissist. He, of course, only cares for himself and breaks things off. Thereafter, Claire decides she wants to spy on Joe on Facebook. Knowing he won’t friend her, she creates a fake profile, that of Claire Antunes, using another much younger woman’s photo and friends his roommate Chris “Kiss Chris.” An online relationship between the two ensues.
Thereafter, things get sketchy. Confusing. What we are told and what is true is unclear. Who Claire is speaking to, describing these actions to is unclear; what happens next; who then takes over as the narrator is confusing. What we know and what we are told could perhaps be left to our interpretation of the story. I am not quite sure.
The book itself was short, and for this I was glad. After the messy beginning, it went quickly and for that I was also grateful. Unfortunately, proofreading errors also made this novel tough to follow. Several people gave it glowing reviews, thus I guess I must be missing something or perhaps I just missed the point.
Thank you to NetGalley, Other Press and Camille Laurens for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon on 3/30/17.
“Who You Think I Am” by Camille Laurens was confusing as all get out. After reading it, I have no idea who the main character, Claire Millecam a/k/a Claire Antunes, purported to be.
Formulating coherent thoughts about a book that was extremely hard to get into (and took me forever to do so because of it) and whose ending made no sense and also had me re-reading it, causing me to scratch my head and rub my eyes, has made me wonder if I read a different book than those who gave it 4 and/or 5 star reviews. For the first-time ever, I honestly don’t know what to say though I will do my best.
After a confusing start, the book does in fact take off quickly. I believe it starts with the main character, Claire Millecam narrating: she speaks in long run on sentences, describing her obsession with her boyfriend Joe, who is a narcissist. He, of course, only cares for himself and breaks things off. Thereafter, Claire decides she wants to spy on Joe on Facebook. Knowing he won’t friend her, she creates a fake profile, that of Claire Antunes, using another much younger woman’s photo and friends his roommate Chris “Kiss Chris.” An online relationship between the two ensues.
Thereafter, things get sketchy. Confusing. What we are told and what is true is unclear. Who Claire is speaking to, describing these actions to is unclear; what happens next; who then takes over as the narrator is confusing. What we know and what we are told could perhaps be left to our interpretation of the story. I am not quite sure.
The book itself was short, and for this I was glad. After the messy beginning, it went quickly and for that I was also grateful. Unfortunately, proofreading errors also made this novel tough to follow. Several people gave it glowing reviews, thus I guess I must be missing something or perhaps I just missed the point.
Thank you to NetGalley, Other Press and Camille Laurens for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon on 3/30/17.
March 31, 2017
Most of the reviews I’ve seen focus on the opening part of this totally compelling novel: a 48-year-old woman named Claire who is almost (in her words) at the point of expiration creates a Facebook persona, using the photograph of a younger woman, and connects to the friend of the man who dumped her. Both become increasingly obsessed with the other’s fake persona to the point that reality becomes irreversibly blurred and consequences result.
Yet it’s the entirety of the novel that is so striking. The structure of the book unfolds like Russian Matryoshka nesting dolls, with one story placed inside the other. The result is a searing look at the devaluation of women as they age, the shaky boundaries between fantasy and reality, and the very nature of love itself (electing, not selecting).
Narrated through taped interviews with her therapist and then expanded into the disciplinary hearing of that therapist, and relayed by the writer herself (who happens to be named Camille Laurens), the structure calls to mind His Bloody Project, a book I enjoyed immensely, as well as J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime (which has a character named Coetzee). As the novel deepens, readers get a sense of what the true Camille Laurens is really after: how our minds inform the fictions we create about ourselves, and how we create new realities (which may or may not be real).
In today’s times of social media – combined with metafiction – it is terrifyingly easy to substitute desire for love, recreate our own lives with any trajectory we choose, and even become our own fiction if we so desire. This is a stunningly intricate book that demands close attention as it slowly exposes its nested secrets.
Yet it’s the entirety of the novel that is so striking. The structure of the book unfolds like Russian Matryoshka nesting dolls, with one story placed inside the other. The result is a searing look at the devaluation of women as they age, the shaky boundaries between fantasy and reality, and the very nature of love itself (electing, not selecting).
Narrated through taped interviews with her therapist and then expanded into the disciplinary hearing of that therapist, and relayed by the writer herself (who happens to be named Camille Laurens), the structure calls to mind His Bloody Project, a book I enjoyed immensely, as well as J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime (which has a character named Coetzee). As the novel deepens, readers get a sense of what the true Camille Laurens is really after: how our minds inform the fictions we create about ourselves, and how we create new realities (which may or may not be real).
In today’s times of social media – combined with metafiction – it is terrifyingly easy to substitute desire for love, recreate our own lives with any trajectory we choose, and even become our own fiction if we so desire. This is a stunningly intricate book that demands close attention as it slowly exposes its nested secrets.
April 12, 2020
La granița dintre realitate și ficțiune, minciună și adevăr, sănătate mintală și delir. Recomand!
April 1, 2017
A longer review is available on my blog:
http://reviewsofbooksonmynightstand.b...
I found this book very difficult and cumbersome to read. Most of the book is told with only one side speaking so there are times when the narrator answers questions that we, as readers, are not privy to. Reading a string of "Yes. No. Yes. Yes." when I have no knowledge of the questions being asked is frustrating. Most of the book was told from the perspective of a psychiatric patient and I believed that the author was trying to make this felt in the writing until the psychiatrist's point of view was also written like this. It may be an interesting experimental writing style but it didn't appeal to me. The story also moves so slowly that it becomes uninteresting to read. It is too bad because this book touches on important themes, such as the worth of women as they age and honesty online, but the poor writing and slow story made this a very difficult and tedious read.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Other Press for an advanced copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
http://reviewsofbooksonmynightstand.b...
I found this book very difficult and cumbersome to read. Most of the book is told with only one side speaking so there are times when the narrator answers questions that we, as readers, are not privy to. Reading a string of "Yes. No. Yes. Yes." when I have no knowledge of the questions being asked is frustrating. Most of the book was told from the perspective of a psychiatric patient and I believed that the author was trying to make this felt in the writing until the psychiatrist's point of view was also written like this. It may be an interesting experimental writing style but it didn't appeal to me. The story also moves so slowly that it becomes uninteresting to read. It is too bad because this book touches on important themes, such as the worth of women as they age and honesty online, but the poor writing and slow story made this a very difficult and tedious read.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Other Press for an advanced copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
May 8, 2022
Complètement tordu. Vraies relations, fantômes via la toile où "est-on insecte captif ou araignée prédatrice?", simple jonglerie écrivaine, divagations, règlements de comptes? On ne sait jamais trop. Une constante: recherche d'être aimée (dans ce cas de figure floue, puisque héroïne en vedette). Plus désespérante que victorieuse, en tous cas proche, au-delà?, de la folie. Déstabilisant. Mais original.
January 12, 2024
Camille Laurens ist eine französische Schriftstellerin, die seit über 30 Jahren Romane veröffentlicht, jedoch erst vor Kurzem für den deutschen Markt entdeckt wurde. Letztes Jahr konnte sie mich bereits mit Es ist ein Mädchen überzeugen. Nun wurde der Vorgängerroman So wie du mich willst ins Deutsche übertragen.
Camille Laurens Bücher werden der Autofiktion zugerechnet. So auch dieses hier. Gleichzeitig ist der Roman aber auch ein Verwirrspiel, das den*die Leser*in immer wieder auf falsche Fährten führt, das mit verschiedenen Identitäten spielt. Immer, wenn man denkt, man hätte alles durchschaut, schlägt die Geschichte eine andere Richtung ein. Zusätzlich werden klassische Rollenbilder vertauscht - und dann doch wieder nicht. Besonders im ersten Teil ist das Buch sehr feministisch: es werden unheimlich viele Missstände aufgezeigt, Beispiele gebracht, die vieles Bekanntes darstellen, jedoch auf eine Art die es noch mehr verdeutlicht (etwa sexuelle Triebe bei älteren Menschen).
Für mich ist Camille Laurens eine ganz große Schriftstellerin. Ich hoffe, dass noch viele ihrer Werke ins Deutsche übertragen werden.
Camille Laurens Bücher werden der Autofiktion zugerechnet. So auch dieses hier. Gleichzeitig ist der Roman aber auch ein Verwirrspiel, das den*die Leser*in immer wieder auf falsche Fährten führt, das mit verschiedenen Identitäten spielt. Immer, wenn man denkt, man hätte alles durchschaut, schlägt die Geschichte eine andere Richtung ein. Zusätzlich werden klassische Rollenbilder vertauscht - und dann doch wieder nicht. Besonders im ersten Teil ist das Buch sehr feministisch: es werden unheimlich viele Missstände aufgezeigt, Beispiele gebracht, die vieles Bekanntes darstellen, jedoch auf eine Art die es noch mehr verdeutlicht (etwa sexuelle Triebe bei älteren Menschen).
Für mich ist Camille Laurens eine ganz große Schriftstellerin. Ich hoffe, dass noch viele ihrer Werke ins Deutsche übertragen werden.
April 9, 2017
Wow. If you are a woman over 50...or frankly a woman of any age, you'll need some time to digest, contemplate, and regroup after this beautifully rendered twisty cautionary tale. "Who You Think I Am" by Camille Laurens (beautifully translated from the French by Adriana Hunter), had me utterly spellbound. In such a slim volume, Laurens manages to give us an unflinching look at female aging, and the wealth of double standards that go along with it. "Go die!" Is that indeed the message that society, and men, send older women, perceiving them useless now that their youth, beauty, and fertility have faded?
This is a novel presents several characters, some of whom are "real" and some of whom are "avatars" on social media. This very real phenomenon of pretending to be someone else on the Internet (Facebook in this case) is fascinating. Can you actual fall in love with someone you have never met? Can someone fall in love with a person who doesn't even exist? This novel, (and the documentary "Catfish") could certainly convince one that not only they can, they do. Laurens quotes the controversial French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan: "Relationships start in the imagination." Indeed.
Laurens plays skillfully with identity and there are several delicious and surprising plot twists in "Who You Think I Am", but no spoilers here. While the topic and a fair amount of the story is certainly depressing and even angered me at times, I did close the book with a smile.
This is a novel presents several characters, some of whom are "real" and some of whom are "avatars" on social media. This very real phenomenon of pretending to be someone else on the Internet (Facebook in this case) is fascinating. Can you actual fall in love with someone you have never met? Can someone fall in love with a person who doesn't even exist? This novel, (and the documentary "Catfish") could certainly convince one that not only they can, they do. Laurens quotes the controversial French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan: "Relationships start in the imagination." Indeed.
Laurens plays skillfully with identity and there are several delicious and surprising plot twists in "Who You Think I Am", but no spoilers here. While the topic and a fair amount of the story is certainly depressing and even angered me at times, I did close the book with a smile.
March 5, 2017
https://vanillamoonbooks.blogspot.ro/...
Descrierea de pe spatele acestei cărţi m-a dus inevitabil cu gândul la Lorelei de Ionel Teodoreanu, carte pe care am îndrăgit-o în urmă cu câţiva ani, când am citit-o la recomandarea mamei. Intrigată şi impulsionată şi de rugămintea unei colege să-i împrumut şi ei cartea după ce o termin, am mutat-o în topul 1 al priorităţilor mele şi pot spune că a fost o decizie inspirată, pentru că demult nu am mai citit o carte atât de deosebită.
Cartea pare iniţial să conste în confesiunile unei femei către psihiatrul ei, sub forma unui monolog. Nu ni se arată nici intervenţiile acestuia, deşi putem bănui unele întrebări după răspunsurile primite, cât şi unele reacţii prin intermediul contra-reacţiilor femeii. pe nume Claire. Aceasta suferă o dramă, aflându-se la vârsta în care femeile îşi pierd farmecul faţă de sexul opus, indiferent cât de bine se ţin. Ne trezim în faţa unui puzzle fără piese, acestea urmând să îşi facă apariţia rând pe rând, pe măsură ce Claire îşi descarcă sufletul în faţa doctorului. Menţiunea unei crime m-a făcut să devin numai ochi la toate indiciile, încercând să întrezăresc adevărul în jumătăţile de confesiuni.
Când pare că totul a fost pus cap la cap, însă, intervine capitolul 2, cu confesiunea doctorului şi noul unghi asupra întregii poveşti. Se conturează o idee, totul capătă sens, te gândeşti, apoi eşti lovit de partea a II-a a cărţii, un nou personaj, aflat în umbră în tot acest timp şi brusc, te trezeşti că adevărul şi minciuna s-au împletit într-o iţă foarte complicată, nu mai ştii ce să crezi din toată pânza de păianjen ţesută de autoare. Dacă vreţi, acest roman se aseamănă din punct de vedere al construcţiei cu filmul Inception.
Mai mult decât atât, Femeia inventată e o poveste despre boli psihologice şi sănătate mintală, graniţa fină dintre patologie şi disperare, confuzie întemeiată. Este despre povara de a fi femeie într-o lume în care încă există locuri unde sexul frumos este asuprit, lipsit de drepturi şi ucis, folosit, violat, distrus, zdrobit, invizibil. Este despre feminitate, feminism ��i o trezire la realitatea că încă mai e o cale lungă de parcurs până la egalitatea adevărată, pentru că sunt cel mai greu de schimbat mentalităţile şi atitudinile adânc înrădăcinate în comportamentul societăţii ca întreg, dar şi al individului. E o carte atât de frumos formulată, încât dacă mi-aş fi însemnat pe ea toate pasajele care mi-au vorbit, aş fi transformat-o într-o mare de semne colorate, ieşind într-o veselie din marginile cărţii, arătând toate către interiorul ei: Ia-mă, citeşte-mă, iar şi iar şi iar...
Mulţumesc Editurii Nemira pentru exemplarul trimis spre recenzare.
Acest aspect nu influenţează în niciun fel părerea exprimată mai sus.
Descrierea de pe spatele acestei cărţi m-a dus inevitabil cu gândul la Lorelei de Ionel Teodoreanu, carte pe care am îndrăgit-o în urmă cu câţiva ani, când am citit-o la recomandarea mamei. Intrigată şi impulsionată şi de rugămintea unei colege să-i împrumut şi ei cartea după ce o termin, am mutat-o în topul 1 al priorităţilor mele şi pot spune că a fost o decizie inspirată, pentru că demult nu am mai citit o carte atât de deosebită.
Cartea pare iniţial să conste în confesiunile unei femei către psihiatrul ei, sub forma unui monolog. Nu ni se arată nici intervenţiile acestuia, deşi putem bănui unele întrebări după răspunsurile primite, cât şi unele reacţii prin intermediul contra-reacţiilor femeii. pe nume Claire. Aceasta suferă o dramă, aflându-se la vârsta în care femeile îşi pierd farmecul faţă de sexul opus, indiferent cât de bine se ţin. Ne trezim în faţa unui puzzle fără piese, acestea urmând să îşi facă apariţia rând pe rând, pe măsură ce Claire îşi descarcă sufletul în faţa doctorului. Menţiunea unei crime m-a făcut să devin numai ochi la toate indiciile, încercând să întrezăresc adevărul în jumătăţile de confesiuni.
O postare distribuită de Adela Cacovean (@ad3llec) pe 24 Feb 2017 la 06:38 PST
Când pare că totul a fost pus cap la cap, însă, intervine capitolul 2, cu confesiunea doctorului şi noul unghi asupra întregii poveşti. Se conturează o idee, totul capătă sens, te gândeşti, apoi eşti lovit de partea a II-a a cărţii, un nou personaj, aflat în umbră în tot acest timp şi brusc, te trezeşti că adevărul şi minciuna s-au împletit într-o iţă foarte complicată, nu mai ştii ce să crezi din toată pânza de păianjen ţesută de autoare. Dacă vreţi, acest roman se aseamănă din punct de vedere al construcţiei cu filmul Inception.
Mai mult decât atât, Femeia inventată e o poveste despre boli psihologice şi sănătate mintală, graniţa fină dintre patologie şi disperare, confuzie întemeiată. Este despre povara de a fi femeie într-o lume în care încă există locuri unde sexul frumos este asuprit, lipsit de drepturi şi ucis, folosit, violat, distrus, zdrobit, invizibil. Este despre feminitate, feminism ��i o trezire la realitatea că încă mai e o cale lungă de parcurs până la egalitatea adevărată, pentru că sunt cel mai greu de schimbat mentalităţile şi atitudinile adânc înrădăcinate în comportamentul societăţii ca întreg, dar şi al individului. E o carte atât de frumos formulată, încât dacă mi-aş fi însemnat pe ea toate pasajele care mi-au vorbit, aş fi transformat-o într-o mare de semne colorate, ieşind într-o veselie din marginile cărţii, arătând toate către interiorul ei: Ia-mă, citeşte-mă, iar şi iar şi iar...
Mulţumesc Editurii Nemira pentru exemplarul trimis spre recenzare.
Acest aspect nu influenţează în niciun fel părerea exprimată mai sus.
February 7, 2016
Un roman très intéressant, découpé en trois grandes parties : Claire qui raconte son histoire à un psychiatre, un roman de ce qui aurait pu se passer écrit par Claire, et enfin l'auteure, Camille, qui nous raconte sa version de la réalité. On se perd franchement, on ne sait plus ce qui relève de la fiction ou de la réalité (peut-être rien ne relève de la réalité d'ailleurs), et je pense que c'est ce que l'auteure souhaitait. Sur ce côté fiction/réalité, ce roman m'a fait penser à D'après une histoire vraie, même s'il est différent. C'était aussi mon premier roman de Camille Laurens et j'ai beaucoup aimé l'écriture et les réflexions qu'elle nous propose... Une bonne lecture, bien que troublante !
February 8, 2017
This reminded me of Italo Cavino's If On A Winter Night a Traveller more than Dangerous Liaisons. Whereas it has been compared to that epistolary 17th century masterpiece, its abrupt leaps from one narrator to another, each layering a different meaning on the subject, and providing a healthy example of meta fiction constantly keeps the reader off balance. This is the best rendition I've read so far employing the seductions and dangers of the Internet.
March 19, 2017
Camille Laurens scrie un roman pătimaș ce ilustrează atât drama unei femei prinse în propriile capcane de seducție, cât și influențele nefaste ale tehnologiei în viața noastră atunci când este folosită în scopuri meschine. "Femeia inventată" este un păienjeniș dens de minciuni și răsturnări de situație, dar și un amestec de registre narative din care cu greu vei găsi ieșirea.
(fragment din recenzia completă: http://www.bookishstyle.ro/femeia-inv...)
(fragment din recenzia completă: http://www.bookishstyle.ro/femeia-inv...)
February 4, 2017
via my blog https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
"Yes, that’s it, I’m no longer operational, I’ve blown a fuse, if you like, or blown a gasket, tripped a switch, and whee! I’ve spun out of control…”
Whoa, there are times when readers are mislead by interesting book cover art. Not so here! I started reading the first few pages annoyed at the mad ravings, the sentences that went on and on, manic even-but it fits and after that… gorgeous literary fiction! There is anger, passion, some mad musings and if there is a disorder for highlighting too much then I now have it. Maybe it’s because I am 41 that I related to the anger women feel in double standards, the hypocrisy of it all! Something happens when you are dismissed, overlooked, made to feel like an old cow set out to pasture. Yes, we all know the argument- you can only be made to feel that way if you allow it. Pfft!
We follow Claire Millecam as she creates a fake identity with a social media profile. Here she becomes young, beautiful Claire Attunes, not to win the affections of Chris but initially to spy on her fickle lover Joe through Chris’s social media page. Claire tangles the web she weaved, now the spider sits in her web and Chris jumps right in but who is the real victim? Becoming young, she is now worthy of wooing, she is fascinating, fresh and new! It isn’t long before Claire is seduced by the connection she and Chris have made. Chris (whom she admits she was jealous of) as Joe’s friend has usurped her place! He told her, unseen over the phone- “Go Die” loaded with spitting cruelty. “People throw themselves out of windows for less than that, don’t they? Plenty here would. They’ve been bashed around by so many words they start to wobble. Go die. Go Die. Other people’s words follow them around like hostile ghosts.” She is falling in love, but can it be love when she isn’t who she says she is? There is a violence in fiction, and the lies turn on her leading to fatal consequences or is it all deception? The reader is the fly, truth be told, because we are played with throughout! Just when we’ve dug our feet in and are on solid ground, the author erases everything, and the reader is left on thin air, just as Claire’s love is thin air.
I understand I am rambling, but I devoured this in two nights! Claire argues with us and herself in the telling, she loses the plot, there is a comfort in insanity, an anchor in believing the horrible things that passed were done in the name of love. We deceive ourselves so dreadfully to live with what befalls us in the name of love. It’s not just her head we climb into. Joe’s cold dismissive nature of women is sort of funny and delusional too. “My life- he seemed to think with one last pitying look at my apartment, my books, my face- my life wouldn’t mean much now that his was going to be so wonderful on the far side of the world. Being happy isn’t enough, you also need other people to be unhappy: it’s a recognized formula.” Is his vain attitude any worse than a woman’s clinging despair? Let it be said, there are plenty of female Joe’s in the world too. Off they go to better, shinier things and imagine you remain behind, like an unloved abandoned haunted house. Sometimes we take up that role, be if we’re smart, we shake it off and move on.
Reader, be warned, you are lied to. But to get to the gooey center of truth requires sifting through the wreckage. This is one of the most unique literally fictions I’ve read in a long time. There is nothing I love more than dredging the dark corners of the mind, getting past the ‘social mask’ we wear, be it media or not. Even through Claire’s disastrous moments I found myself laughing. It’s hard to take a man seriously when he is acting belligerent and silly. Being a woman requires crocodile skin, if you make it past your ‘expiration date’ of say, 25- you must toughen up. Claire is becoming an angry victim , she isn’t playing nice and her deception is brutal too. As a woman I can well relate to the wide eyed, harsh reality many women face as they age in comparison to men. I also can see young women (not all, some) being just as ugly about older women, not realizing they are looking at themselves in the future. Don’t be put off by some self-indulgent whining, we all have a right to it now and then, so long as you don’t get swallowed up by it. But men and women of any age can relate to being ejected by a lover from your place in their life. So long sucker! Loved this and it is not a novel I can easily explain, I feel I am failing the author because it’s original and I can’t express myself clearly. The deceptive dark side of our online persona is exposed here but it is misleading to imagine the novel purely a social media story, because it’s not. There is a lot of fat to chew on when it comes to how we manipulate others and ourselves online, how we are vulnerable hidden behind a screen and yet the reader could ignore all that and still come away with one heck of a story about love and self-deception. Read it! Just read it for yourself! “Every night I howl with terror at the thought of being a woman.” Claire has blown a fuse, no doubt about it!
Publication Date: March 28, 2o17
Other Press
"Yes, that’s it, I’m no longer operational, I’ve blown a fuse, if you like, or blown a gasket, tripped a switch, and whee! I’ve spun out of control…”
Whoa, there are times when readers are mislead by interesting book cover art. Not so here! I started reading the first few pages annoyed at the mad ravings, the sentences that went on and on, manic even-but it fits and after that… gorgeous literary fiction! There is anger, passion, some mad musings and if there is a disorder for highlighting too much then I now have it. Maybe it’s because I am 41 that I related to the anger women feel in double standards, the hypocrisy of it all! Something happens when you are dismissed, overlooked, made to feel like an old cow set out to pasture. Yes, we all know the argument- you can only be made to feel that way if you allow it. Pfft!
We follow Claire Millecam as she creates a fake identity with a social media profile. Here she becomes young, beautiful Claire Attunes, not to win the affections of Chris but initially to spy on her fickle lover Joe through Chris’s social media page. Claire tangles the web she weaved, now the spider sits in her web and Chris jumps right in but who is the real victim? Becoming young, she is now worthy of wooing, she is fascinating, fresh and new! It isn’t long before Claire is seduced by the connection she and Chris have made. Chris (whom she admits she was jealous of) as Joe’s friend has usurped her place! He told her, unseen over the phone- “Go Die” loaded with spitting cruelty. “People throw themselves out of windows for less than that, don’t they? Plenty here would. They’ve been bashed around by so many words they start to wobble. Go die. Go Die. Other people’s words follow them around like hostile ghosts.” She is falling in love, but can it be love when she isn’t who she says she is? There is a violence in fiction, and the lies turn on her leading to fatal consequences or is it all deception? The reader is the fly, truth be told, because we are played with throughout! Just when we’ve dug our feet in and are on solid ground, the author erases everything, and the reader is left on thin air, just as Claire’s love is thin air.
I understand I am rambling, but I devoured this in two nights! Claire argues with us and herself in the telling, she loses the plot, there is a comfort in insanity, an anchor in believing the horrible things that passed were done in the name of love. We deceive ourselves so dreadfully to live with what befalls us in the name of love. It’s not just her head we climb into. Joe’s cold dismissive nature of women is sort of funny and delusional too. “My life- he seemed to think with one last pitying look at my apartment, my books, my face- my life wouldn’t mean much now that his was going to be so wonderful on the far side of the world. Being happy isn’t enough, you also need other people to be unhappy: it’s a recognized formula.” Is his vain attitude any worse than a woman’s clinging despair? Let it be said, there are plenty of female Joe’s in the world too. Off they go to better, shinier things and imagine you remain behind, like an unloved abandoned haunted house. Sometimes we take up that role, be if we’re smart, we shake it off and move on.
Reader, be warned, you are lied to. But to get to the gooey center of truth requires sifting through the wreckage. This is one of the most unique literally fictions I’ve read in a long time. There is nothing I love more than dredging the dark corners of the mind, getting past the ‘social mask’ we wear, be it media or not. Even through Claire’s disastrous moments I found myself laughing. It’s hard to take a man seriously when he is acting belligerent and silly. Being a woman requires crocodile skin, if you make it past your ‘expiration date’ of say, 25- you must toughen up. Claire is becoming an angry victim , she isn’t playing nice and her deception is brutal too. As a woman I can well relate to the wide eyed, harsh reality many women face as they age in comparison to men. I also can see young women (not all, some) being just as ugly about older women, not realizing they are looking at themselves in the future. Don’t be put off by some self-indulgent whining, we all have a right to it now and then, so long as you don’t get swallowed up by it. But men and women of any age can relate to being ejected by a lover from your place in their life. So long sucker! Loved this and it is not a novel I can easily explain, I feel I am failing the author because it’s original and I can’t express myself clearly. The deceptive dark side of our online persona is exposed here but it is misleading to imagine the novel purely a social media story, because it’s not. There is a lot of fat to chew on when it comes to how we manipulate others and ourselves online, how we are vulnerable hidden behind a screen and yet the reader could ignore all that and still come away with one heck of a story about love and self-deception. Read it! Just read it for yourself! “Every night I howl with terror at the thought of being a woman.” Claire has blown a fuse, no doubt about it!
Publication Date: March 28, 2o17
Other Press
March 26, 2017
I was excited by the description of Who You Think I Am but was sorely disappointed. Prepare for one of my shortest reviews of all time. I thought the story sounded interesting with a woman creating a fake social media account to keep tabs on her ex, but it was impossible for me to get into the story or connect with Claire. This is a short novel at 196 pages but I must confess that I gave up on page 51. There are so many long run-on sentences and it’s confusing at first who is talking and who she is talking to. I can only think of one or two occasions where I put a book down and didn’t finish it, but it was necessary for my sanity. I looked over other reviews once putting it down to see if I am crazy and this is actually a fabulous novel, but it appeared that 3-4 other reviews agreed with me regarding the difficult to read writing style and the confusion regarding time, place, characters, and so on. This novel was translated from French to English so it could also just be a writing style I am not used to, but regardless, I couldn’t see this one through to the end.
*Thanks to Edelweiss for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
*Thanks to Edelweiss for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 18, 2019
I read that book in French (the author is French and so am I). I just wanted to add this because I don't know what the translation in English is worth.
I liked the unusual way the author played with having no punctuation at the beginning (because it's a verbal transcription). I like the fact that the book is in 3 parts and playing with the same characters (or situations). But somehow, this got me so confused towards the end that I think I might have misunderstood who was who.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll keep it short. I'm someone who is quite positive and reading thoughts of someone who thinks so negatively about themselves is a hard read for me.
I wanted to like this book but I said to myself "all this for that" when I closed it...
My 3 stars are for the writing style, because it was quite interesting from that point of view, and for the 2 or 3 good twists.
I liked the unusual way the author played with having no punctuation at the beginning (because it's a verbal transcription). I like the fact that the book is in 3 parts and playing with the same characters (or situations). But somehow, this got me so confused towards the end that I think I might have misunderstood who was who.
I don't want to spoil anything so I'll keep it short. I'm someone who is quite positive and reading thoughts of someone who thinks so negatively about themselves is a hard read for me.
I wanted to like this book but I said to myself "all this for that" when I closed it...
My 3 stars are for the writing style, because it was quite interesting from that point of view, and for the 2 or 3 good twists.
March 15, 2018
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. I read this book in two hours. It was so fascinating. But once I finished, I wondered what happened to the ending. It just sort of stopped with what I think was supposed to be the big reveal, but it didn’t really reveal anything...
January 16, 2018
J'ai absolument dévoré ce livre !J'ai particulièrement aimé le jeu sur le titre "Celle que vous croyez" qui se répercute à la fois dans la forme et dans les discours des personnages.
December 15, 2019
Laurens plays with the reader’s head in ways that become increasingly complex. Although I’m not all that interested in the roman à clef or the multi-mirroring of autobiographical fiction, most of the time this reader enjoyed the games Laurens plays.
March 12, 2017
2 stars. I thought the idea of this book was interesting, especially in the high tech world we live in now. A lonely woman creates a fake Facebook account to spy on her pretty much-ex-lover, but ends up in an affair with her lover's friend as the fake profile, sorta. With me so far? I mean, as a story idea I'm all in at this point. It started off really interesting and I was kinda sad the book was pretty short knowing the story we're on board for.
Then...I dunno...everything kinda falls apart (for me, at least)-We're with a new narrator, for a minute. Then something that's hard to mention without spoilers happens (I think? It was so confusing at this point in regards to who exactly was telling the story I'm not 100% sure...) and I think we're to believe that what we read didn't really happen. And I get the unreliable narrator thing, I really do, but most don't say "just kidding that didn't happen..." which is frustrating after reading for a while especially when the story is told in this rambling, one sided conversation point of view with these really, really big words and philosophical comparisons. Maybe it's my fault for not being smart enough for the book. And if so, I'll take the blame 100%. Needless to say by the 75% mark or so, I wasn't upset that the book was short anymore. So yeah, a frustrating read--but there's lots of positive reviews on here for it, so please remember my willingness to accept the blame for not being philosophical enough when deciding to try it or not! :)
Then...I dunno...everything kinda falls apart (for me, at least)-We're with a new narrator, for a minute. Then something that's hard to mention without spoilers happens (I think? It was so confusing at this point in regards to who exactly was telling the story I'm not 100% sure...) and I think we're to believe that what we read didn't really happen. And I get the unreliable narrator thing, I really do, but most don't say "just kidding that didn't happen..." which is frustrating after reading for a while especially when the story is told in this rambling, one sided conversation point of view with these really, really big words and philosophical comparisons. Maybe it's my fault for not being smart enough for the book. And if so, I'll take the blame 100%. Needless to say by the 75% mark or so, I wasn't upset that the book was short anymore. So yeah, a frustrating read--but there's lots of positive reviews on here for it, so please remember my willingness to accept the blame for not being philosophical enough when deciding to try it or not! :)
December 29, 2023
Claire ist 48 Jahre alt, Literaturprofessorin und geschieden. Sie hadert mit dem Alter, der Tatsache, dass alles vergänglich ist und dem unguten Gefühl, dass ihr Geliebter Jo sie verlassen könnte. Deshalb entschließt sie sich ein gefälschtes Facebook-Profil anzulegen und sich als vierundzwanzigjährige, alleinstehende Frau auszugeben. Sie beginnt mit dem Mitbewohner von Jo, Christophe, zu schreiben, der sehr viel jünger ist als sie und verwickelt ihn in ein Gespräch. Es folgen weitere und beide werden sich immer vertrauter, sodass sich eine Liebesgeschichte entsteht, die nicht ohne Folgen bleiben kann.
Mir sagte der Name der Schriftstellerin zunächst gar nichts und auch als ich mich näher mit ihrer Person befasste, änderte das nichts, sodass ich sehr neugierig auf diesen Roman war, der autofiktional geschrieben sein soll. Ich habe auf den ersten Seiten sehr schwer in die Geschichte hineingefunden, das änderte sich dann aber ebenso schnell wieder. Was sofort auffällt ist der sehr anspruchsvolle Erzählstil, der den Roman schon allein sprachlich zu einem Genuss werden lässt. Camille Laurens gewährt ihren Leser:innen mit diesem Buch einen tiefen Einblick in die Psyche ihrer Protagonistin Claire, die ein gefälschtes Internet-Profil anlegt, um ihren Geliebten besser im Auge zu haben.
Schnell entwickelt sich ein gefährliches Cyberspace-Spiel aus Leidenschaft, Liebe und Lügen. Claire hadert mit ihren Lebensentscheidungen, dem Ausbeuten ihres Geschlechts und dem Alterungsprozess. Weil sie ihrem Geliebten Joe, der sich kürzlich von ihr getrennt hat, nicht vertraut, versucht sie über den Kontakt zu seinem Mitbewohner Christophe herauszufinden, wie das Leben von Joe nun aussieht, was er treibt und mit wem. Dies alles geschieht über ein angelegtes facebook-Profil, in welchem Claire sich als wesentlich jüngere Frau ausgibt und auch ein anderes Foto verwendet, um ihre Identität zu verbergen. Innerhalb kurzer Zeit entsteht zwischen Claire und Christophe eine Liebesgeschichte, die mich sehr berühren konnte. Es wird fortan immer schwieriger für Claire den Fragen nach einem Treffen auszuweichen.
Die Abschnitte im Buch werden aus Sicht von Claire und ihrem Therapeuten erzählt, dem sie die ganze Geschichte und vor allem das Ende anvertraut. Das eine Ende scheint es aber nicht zu geben, denn die dramatische Liebesgeschichte zwischen Claire und Christophe endet immer anders, sodass ich als Leserin selbst nicht wusste, was ich nun glauben kann. Camille Laurens gelingt es auf beeindruckende und komplexe Weise, Realität und Fiktion miteinander zu vermischen, sodass man beim Lesen selbst nicht mehr weiß, was Wahrheit und was Lüge ist. Claire begibt sich in eine immer gefährlicher werdende Obsession, als sie sich gegenüber Christophe als jemand anders ausgibt. Und die Folgen sollen verheerend sein. Wer ist Claire und was ist wirklich geschehen? Diese Fragen begleiten durch das gesamte Buch hinweg.
Was mir sehr gefiel sind die tabulosen Aussagen, die nicht immer schmeichelhaften Gedanken von Claire über sich selbst, über das weibliche Geschlecht und die Vergänglichkeit von Schönheit, die ihr zusetzt. Laurens benennt schonungslos die größten Ängste einer Frau hinsichtlich ihrer Attraktivität. Die Autorin steckt den Finger in die Wunde und setzt beim Lesen Gedankengänge in Prozess. Viele ihrer Schilderungen können als gesellschaftskritisch verstanden werden. Auch die psychische Gesundheit von Claire spielt eine zentrale Rolle, auch hier gefiel mir die Umsetzung, denn das, was an ihrem Verhalten augenscheinlich hin und wieder irre erscheinen mag, ist im Grunde zutiefst menschlich, wenn auch, wie hier beschrieben, nicht immer ganz greifbar. Ein Buch, das im Kontrast zu vielen anderen in seinem Genre steht und einen außergewöhnlichen Schreibstil besitzt. Das Buch wurde 2019 unter dem gleichen Titel verfilmt.
Abwechslungsreicher Roman, der mit einer unkonventionellen Protagonistin begeistert und mit tabuisierten Themen bricht.
Mir sagte der Name der Schriftstellerin zunächst gar nichts und auch als ich mich näher mit ihrer Person befasste, änderte das nichts, sodass ich sehr neugierig auf diesen Roman war, der autofiktional geschrieben sein soll. Ich habe auf den ersten Seiten sehr schwer in die Geschichte hineingefunden, das änderte sich dann aber ebenso schnell wieder. Was sofort auffällt ist der sehr anspruchsvolle Erzählstil, der den Roman schon allein sprachlich zu einem Genuss werden lässt. Camille Laurens gewährt ihren Leser:innen mit diesem Buch einen tiefen Einblick in die Psyche ihrer Protagonistin Claire, die ein gefälschtes Internet-Profil anlegt, um ihren Geliebten besser im Auge zu haben.
Schnell entwickelt sich ein gefährliches Cyberspace-Spiel aus Leidenschaft, Liebe und Lügen. Claire hadert mit ihren Lebensentscheidungen, dem Ausbeuten ihres Geschlechts und dem Alterungsprozess. Weil sie ihrem Geliebten Joe, der sich kürzlich von ihr getrennt hat, nicht vertraut, versucht sie über den Kontakt zu seinem Mitbewohner Christophe herauszufinden, wie das Leben von Joe nun aussieht, was er treibt und mit wem. Dies alles geschieht über ein angelegtes facebook-Profil, in welchem Claire sich als wesentlich jüngere Frau ausgibt und auch ein anderes Foto verwendet, um ihre Identität zu verbergen. Innerhalb kurzer Zeit entsteht zwischen Claire und Christophe eine Liebesgeschichte, die mich sehr berühren konnte. Es wird fortan immer schwieriger für Claire den Fragen nach einem Treffen auszuweichen.
Die Abschnitte im Buch werden aus Sicht von Claire und ihrem Therapeuten erzählt, dem sie die ganze Geschichte und vor allem das Ende anvertraut. Das eine Ende scheint es aber nicht zu geben, denn die dramatische Liebesgeschichte zwischen Claire und Christophe endet immer anders, sodass ich als Leserin selbst nicht wusste, was ich nun glauben kann. Camille Laurens gelingt es auf beeindruckende und komplexe Weise, Realität und Fiktion miteinander zu vermischen, sodass man beim Lesen selbst nicht mehr weiß, was Wahrheit und was Lüge ist. Claire begibt sich in eine immer gefährlicher werdende Obsession, als sie sich gegenüber Christophe als jemand anders ausgibt. Und die Folgen sollen verheerend sein. Wer ist Claire und was ist wirklich geschehen? Diese Fragen begleiten durch das gesamte Buch hinweg.
Was mir sehr gefiel sind die tabulosen Aussagen, die nicht immer schmeichelhaften Gedanken von Claire über sich selbst, über das weibliche Geschlecht und die Vergänglichkeit von Schönheit, die ihr zusetzt. Laurens benennt schonungslos die größten Ängste einer Frau hinsichtlich ihrer Attraktivität. Die Autorin steckt den Finger in die Wunde und setzt beim Lesen Gedankengänge in Prozess. Viele ihrer Schilderungen können als gesellschaftskritisch verstanden werden. Auch die psychische Gesundheit von Claire spielt eine zentrale Rolle, auch hier gefiel mir die Umsetzung, denn das, was an ihrem Verhalten augenscheinlich hin und wieder irre erscheinen mag, ist im Grunde zutiefst menschlich, wenn auch, wie hier beschrieben, nicht immer ganz greifbar. Ein Buch, das im Kontrast zu vielen anderen in seinem Genre steht und einen außergewöhnlichen Schreibstil besitzt. Das Buch wurde 2019 unter dem gleichen Titel verfilmt.
Abwechslungsreicher Roman, der mit einer unkonventionellen Protagonistin begeistert und mit tabuisierten Themen bricht.
December 26, 2021
*Film adaptation starring Juliette Binoche is streaming on Amazon Prime.
3.5/5
In who you think I am, Claire Millecam, a 48-year-old divorced teacher, poses as a 20something online in order to befriend a younger man who happens to be her boyfriend’s friend. They end up having a relationship and later on her catfishing, I guess you could call it, gets exposed. Claire flipped the switch on what someone expected of her and created the woman that she felt she needed to be at that time.
The beginning of the novel opens with Claire speaking to a therapist in a mental health facility. Claire’s quite angry and frustrated that women over 40 aren’t seen or heard or valued by society. At one point Claire tells her therapist: “women are condemned—by force or by contempt, to die. That’s a fact, everywhere, all the time: men teach women to die. From north to south, fundamentalist or pornographic, it’s the sole same tyranny. Existing only in their eyes, and dying when they close their eyes.”
This intriguing, intelligent, unique novel is a meditation on age, beauty standards, relationships and mental illness from a feminist perspective. It’s also an examination of online dating. Writer Camille Laurens allows Claire’s story unfold through the eyes of Claire, her therapist and her younger lover. About her lover, Claire shares: “I was used to more intellectual connection with me, I was one of those people who wonder how anyone can live without reading Proust.” Claire’s psychiatrist falls in love with her and this is what he reveals: “She touches me and captivates me, yes, I’m a captive. I want to see her. . . And I like being there for her. I’d like to bandage her wounds. She may be mad after all, in the way we understand the word. Certainly. But it’s the mad who heal us, isn’t it?”
complete review here: https://entertainmentrealm.com/2017/0...
February 28, 2017
Cartea Camillei Laurens te prinde în mreje și nu îți mai dă drumul, este ca un drog și pe măsură ce înaintezi cu lectura, ai impresia că începi să halucinezi. Autoarea este o fină cunoscătoare a psihologiei umane, o jucătoare de primă mână, capabilă să te păcălească de nenumărate ori, să disece și să răstoare povestea pe toate părțile, să amețească și cel mai atent cititor și face toate acestea până la final, când, chiar și atunci, citind ultimul paragraf, ultima frază, lași să îți scape o exclamație de uimire și nici nu mai ști ce ai citit mai exact.
Recenzia completa: http://twistinmysobriety-alexa.blogsp...
Recenzia completa: http://twistinmysobriety-alexa.blogsp...
September 21, 2016
Bien plus qu'une réflexion sur le sort de la femme de plus de cinquante ans dans le regard des hommes, et heureusement, sinon ça aurait été franchement plat.
J'étais pas convaincue par la façon dont l'auteure utilise Facebook au début, c'est absolument improbable, ce "KissChris" au 5000 abonnés. Je pensais que ça allait être un roman sur l'incommunicabilité à l'air d'internet, un truc de vieux qui a peur parce qu'il ne comprend plus comment les jeunes vivent. N'ayez crainte, ce n'est pas le cas.
J'étais pas convaincue par la façon dont l'auteure utilise Facebook au début, c'est absolument improbable, ce "KissChris" au 5000 abonnés. Je pensais que ça allait être un roman sur l'incommunicabilité à l'air d'internet, un truc de vieux qui a peur parce qu'il ne comprend plus comment les jeunes vivent. N'ayez crainte, ce n'est pas le cas.
November 21, 2016
This is a high-wire act that does not completely work but is brilliantly unique and ambitious and worth the time. Twisting personae between online avatars and unreliable narrators results in a complex game of what really happened are served up in gorgeous language and distinct voices. Obviously hard to sum up in a couple of sentences but high points for originality.
January 22, 2016
Une très belle composition sur l'amour illusoire, sur l'usurpation, l'écriture, le rêve et la culpabilité. Chaque nouvelle partie remet en doute nos certitudes et nous embarque dans un jeu narratif entre l'auteur et son sujet. Très bien mené!
February 26, 2016
Ce livre est totalement addictif, assez perturbant !!
Quel est la vérité ?
C'est un peu l'inception du livre...
On ne s'ennuit absolument pas... Je pense que l'on peu le finir très vite, trop vite. J'ai reussis à faire du durer le plaisir:-)
Quel est la vérité ?
C'est un peu l'inception du livre...
On ne s'ennuit absolument pas... Je pense que l'on peu le finir très vite, trop vite. J'ai reussis à faire du durer le plaisir:-)
January 26, 2016
Ai découvert l'auteur que j'ai envie de lire désormais
Mais je me suis sentie "ballotée" et usée par les diverses versions du récit
Du mal à m'attacher à un personnage quelconque
Mais je me suis sentie "ballotée" et usée par les diverses versions du récit
Du mal à m'attacher à un personnage quelconque
March 28, 2019
Vrlo dobra. Igranje sa "glavom" onoga ko je čita.
February 5, 2022
The first part of this novel dragged in places, but once we get into the second half, the basic premise wins through. It’s the story of a woman in her forties, who invents a fake Facebook profile, to spy on her often-unavailable boyfriend. She befriends one of his friends, and ends up falling for him, and he for her, or rather, for her fake profile. Then it gets complicated… There are 3 narrators involved here, 4 if you count the novel within a novel. Or is that one really a diary? Which account is the true one? And as we are reading a work of fiction, why are we worrying about which one is “true”? It’s all very clever and mostly enjoyable. The French is accessible to anyone with A level or above. An English translation would lose a lot of the word-play, but that is only a small part of the story.
April 21, 2017
Who you think I am by Camille Laurens.
In a vertiginous play of mirrors between fantasy and virtual reality, Camille Laurens relates the dangerous liaisons of a woman who refuses to give up on desire.
This is the story of Claire Millecam, a 48 year-old teacher and divorcee, who creates a fake social media profile to try to keep tabs on Jo, her occasional, elusive, and inconstant lover. Under the false identity of Claire Antunes, a young and beautiful 24 year-old, she starts a correspondence with Chris--pseudonym KissChris--which soon turns into an Internet love affair.
A very good read with good characters. I liked the story. Bit slow but I managed to read it. 4*. Netgalley and other press.
In a vertiginous play of mirrors between fantasy and virtual reality, Camille Laurens relates the dangerous liaisons of a woman who refuses to give up on desire.
This is the story of Claire Millecam, a 48 year-old teacher and divorcee, who creates a fake social media profile to try to keep tabs on Jo, her occasional, elusive, and inconstant lover. Under the false identity of Claire Antunes, a young and beautiful 24 year-old, she starts a correspondence with Chris--pseudonym KissChris--which soon turns into an Internet love affair.
A very good read with good characters. I liked the story. Bit slow but I managed to read it. 4*. Netgalley and other press.
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