The Award

by Lydie Salvayre, Jane Davey (Translator)

A disturbing, provocative story of an awards ceremony at a massive automotive factory takes acceptance speeches and presentations, makes them into individual minibiographies, and explores the insanity and chaos that is not isolated to fiction, but is a reflection of human life. IP.

151 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Lydie Salvayre is a French writer. Born in the south of France to Republican refugees from the Spanish Civil War, she went on to study medicine in Toulouse and continues to work as a practicing psychiatrist. She has been awarded both the Prix Hermes and the Prix Novembre for her work.
She won the Prix Goncourt 2014 for her novel Pas Pleurer.

Reviews

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bleak and bitter all the way through. Salvayre takes aim at the hypocrisy of factory bosses who pretend to honor their workers while literally squeezing them to death. The book alternates between the self-congratulatory speeches of the hierarchy and the testimonies of the medal awardees who recount lives of abominable physical and mental sufferings. A bunch of irate workers eventually disrupts the ceremony and some sort of revolution seems on the brink of taking place, but in the end the status quo prevails. Like most satires, this one doesn't aim for subtlety. This is an angry book well served by the author's great command of language.

[Marie-aimée · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tellement génial. Série de discours de réception de médaille du travail. Décapant, ironique mais pas si éloigné de la réalité dans certain cas. Cela fait réfléchir.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié le style de l'autrice, que je ne connaissais pas, beaucoup d'humour, d'autodérision mais en même temps très juste. A lire et à partager à gogo !

[Zadignose]

I eagerly sought it out, purchased it, awaited its arrival, prepared to love it, and shamefully gave up within a chapter and a half. I dunno. As a lampoon it seemed easy and obvious, not particularly funny, and a bit of a put on. At least at first impression. But maybe I'm in a mood.

Later?