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Strike Your Heart
Diane is raised by a mother so plagued by jealousy of her own daughter that she is incapable of showing affection to her. Despite this, Diane grows up to become a brilliant young woman who rejects societal expectations. She forges her own path, dismissing suitors and pursuing her dream of becoming a cardiologist. At university, she befriends the assistant professor Olivia. Intelligent and cold, Olivia’s ambition and need to feel superior to others drags Diane down to a dark place.
This is the story of Diane’s relationships with other women: her best friend, the sweet Élisabeth; her mentor, the selfish Olivia; her sister, the coddled Célia; and, of course, her mother, Marie. Nothomb balances light-hearted observations with crushing revelations, exposing the spectrum of female bonds. Strike Your Heart takes a philosophical look at jealousy, contempt, loss, betrayal, and above it all, the capacity for forgiveness.
With her trademark wit, brevity, and tightly wound plots, Nothomb, one of Europe’s most acclaimed and beloved authors, has crafted an insightful story about a modern heroine who will linger in the minds of readers long after the final page.
This is the story of Diane’s relationships with other women: her best friend, the sweet Élisabeth; her mentor, the selfish Olivia; her sister, the coddled Célia; and, of course, her mother, Marie. Nothomb balances light-hearted observations with crushing revelations, exposing the spectrum of female bonds. Strike Your Heart takes a philosophical look at jealousy, contempt, loss, betrayal, and above it all, the capacity for forgiveness.
With her trademark wit, brevity, and tightly wound plots, Nothomb, one of Europe’s most acclaimed and beloved authors, has crafted an insightful story about a modern heroine who will linger in the minds of readers long after the final page.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 2017
96 people are currently reading
5641 people want to read
About the author
Amélie Nothomb
102 books5,916 followersAmélie Nothomb, born Fabienne Claire Nothomb, was born in Etterbeek, Belgium on 9 July 1966, to Belgian diplomats. Although Nothomb claims to have been born in Japan, she actually began living in Japan at the age of two until she was five years old. Subsequently, she lived in China, New York, Bangladesh, Burma, the United Kingdom (Coventry) and Laos.
She is from a distinguished Belgian political family; she is notably the grand-niece of Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb, a Belgian foreign minister (1980-1981). Her first novel, Hygiène de l'assassin, was published in 1992. Since then, she has published approximately one novel per year with a.o. Les Catilinaires (1995), Stupeur Et Tremblements (1999) and Métaphysique des tubes (2000).
She has been awarded numerous prizes, including the 1999 Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française; the Prix René-Fallet; and twice the Prix Alain-Fournier.
While in Japan, she attended a local school and learned Japanese. When she was five the family moved to China. "Quitter le Japon fut pour moi un arrachement" ("Leaving Japan was a wrenching separation for me") she writes in Fear and Trembling. Nothomb moved often, and did not live in Europe until she was 17, when she moved to Brussels. There, she reportedly felt as much a stranger as everywhere else. She studied philology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. After some family tensions, she returned to Japan to work in a big Japanese company in Tokyo. Her experience of this time is told in Fear and Trembling. She has written a romanticized biography (Robert des noms propres) for the French female singer RoBERT in 2002 and during the period 2000-2002 she wrote the lyrics for nine tracks of the same artist. Many ideas inserted in her books come from the conversations she had with an Italian man, from late eighties and during the nineties. She used the French Minitel, while he used the Italian Videotel system, connected with the French one. They never met personally.
Source: Wikipedia
She is from a distinguished Belgian political family; she is notably the grand-niece of Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb, a Belgian foreign minister (1980-1981). Her first novel, Hygiène de l'assassin, was published in 1992. Since then, she has published approximately one novel per year with a.o. Les Catilinaires (1995), Stupeur Et Tremblements (1999) and Métaphysique des tubes (2000).
She has been awarded numerous prizes, including the 1999 Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française; the Prix René-Fallet; and twice the Prix Alain-Fournier.
While in Japan, she attended a local school and learned Japanese. When she was five the family moved to China. "Quitter le Japon fut pour moi un arrachement" ("Leaving Japan was a wrenching separation for me") she writes in Fear and Trembling. Nothomb moved often, and did not live in Europe until she was 17, when she moved to Brussels. There, she reportedly felt as much a stranger as everywhere else. She studied philology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. After some family tensions, she returned to Japan to work in a big Japanese company in Tokyo. Her experience of this time is told in Fear and Trembling. She has written a romanticized biography (Robert des noms propres) for the French female singer RoBERT in 2002 and during the period 2000-2002 she wrote the lyrics for nine tracks of the same artist. Many ideas inserted in her books come from the conversations she had with an Italian man, from late eighties and during the nineties. She used the French Minitel, while he used the Italian Videotel system, connected with the French one. They never met personally.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,144 reviews
December 30, 2020
“Home is where it hurts.”
Just goes to show even utterly perceptive people can be extremely easily susceptible when it comes to the things they experienced in early childhood. Sometimes it can literally takes your whole life to successfully undo damages you’d suffered as a child. IF you succeed at all that is.
“She was incapable of determining which was more hurtful: the present suffering of this woman who had been a goddess to her, or the negation of her childhood hell”
I wish there was a Diane for everyone of us. But most of all, I wish there was a Diane for ME. As in my younger self. Because the entire subject of this book is incredibly personal to me.
This is like reading my own childhood story spread out on pages. It is uncanny. And a little more than disturbing. I can’t write a review without divulging into the why I felt this so much and it’s not a good thing for me to do that so this review will remain as is. Let’s just say the book is about the extreme of the myth that “parents love your children equally” mentality. Spoiler alert: it’s a BIG FAT LIE.
October 16, 2020
Mi experiencia con Amélie Nothomb es corta. Muy corta. Tanto es así que solo he leído Estupor y temblores (por cierto, me encantó). Se dice que sus libros son excéntricos, raros, peculiares. Y parece ser que causa sensaciones intensas porque también se comenta que la amas o la odias.
Golpéate el corazón es un cuento, una fábula sobre madres e hijas y su complejo vínculo. Sí, ya sabéis, eso que me gusta a mí (¿quizás porque me toca de cerca?). Marie es una chica joven, exuberante, que despierta admiración allá por donde pasa y disfruta de ello. Pero un día se queda embarazada y siente que su juventud y su vida han acabado del todo. Marie vierte toda su frialdad, envidia y celos sobre su hija Diane. Esta crece marcada por la carencia afectiva de la madre, intentando comprenderla. ¿Por qué sus hermanos reciben un trato diferente? Gracias a Alfred Musset y su frase «Golpéate el corazón, es ahí donde reside el genio» decide estudiar cardiología y conoce a una profesora llamada Olivia. En ella espera encontrar la figura materna (y vaya que sí, la va a encontrar). El caso es que Olivia ya tiene una hija y al final todo da un giro bastante perturbador.
Esta fábula perversa y cruel, con un estilo ligero y fluido, contada por Marie, Diane, Olivia, Mariel, Celia y las mujeres del libro habla de los celos, la envidia, el control. ¿Ahora quién domina a quién? La complejidad de las relaciones, especialmente entre madre e hija. Jamás olvidaré lo que me dijo una seguidora por privado: «las madres duelen». También las sobreprotectoras, también las negligentes. Igualmente lo dice Amélie y la artista Camille en su álbum Music Hole: «Home is where it hurts».
Debo reconocer que, aunque me ha encantado, en ocasiones me ha dejado fría. Amélie no ha conseguido “golpearme el corazón” como sí han hecho otras autoras que hablan de este tema. Autoras a las que no he podido ni seguir leyendo por remover demasiado. Aún con todo, me gusta Amélie.
Golpéate el corazón es un cuento, una fábula sobre madres e hijas y su complejo vínculo. Sí, ya sabéis, eso que me gusta a mí (¿quizás porque me toca de cerca?). Marie es una chica joven, exuberante, que despierta admiración allá por donde pasa y disfruta de ello. Pero un día se queda embarazada y siente que su juventud y su vida han acabado del todo. Marie vierte toda su frialdad, envidia y celos sobre su hija Diane. Esta crece marcada por la carencia afectiva de la madre, intentando comprenderla. ¿Por qué sus hermanos reciben un trato diferente? Gracias a Alfred Musset y su frase «Golpéate el corazón, es ahí donde reside el genio» decide estudiar cardiología y conoce a una profesora llamada Olivia. En ella espera encontrar la figura materna (y vaya que sí, la va a encontrar). El caso es que Olivia ya tiene una hija y al final todo da un giro bastante perturbador.
Esta fábula perversa y cruel, con un estilo ligero y fluido, contada por Marie, Diane, Olivia, Mariel, Celia y las mujeres del libro habla de los celos, la envidia, el control. ¿Ahora quién domina a quién? La complejidad de las relaciones, especialmente entre madre e hija. Jamás olvidaré lo que me dijo una seguidora por privado: «las madres duelen». También las sobreprotectoras, también las negligentes. Igualmente lo dice Amélie y la artista Camille en su álbum Music Hole: «Home is where it hurts».
Debo reconocer que, aunque me ha encantado, en ocasiones me ha dejado fría. Amélie no ha conseguido “golpearme el corazón” como sí han hecho otras autoras que hablan de este tema. Autoras a las que no he podido ni seguir leyendo por remover demasiado. Aún con todo, me gusta Amélie.
March 13, 2019
Like every other Amélie Nothomb novel I've read, Strike Your Heart felt deep, true, and perfect to me.
I try to understand why her books aren't gobbled up by my friends and anticipated before they are published.
One reason might be because she never strays beyond the nihilistic reality of what it's like to be a woman. There's a certain cut-throat realism in this novel, and in every other Nothomb novel I've ever read. She frequently writes about just how awful women can be to one another.
Another reason that she is less lauded than she deserves might be the utter simplicity of her prose style. I don't think there is a single dependent clause anywhere in this novel.
A third reason might be because she is prolific, writing one short perfect novel after another. I think people tend to doubt the quality of the work of any writer who puts out very short books, very fast. Or they don't know where to start. (I would recommend starting with Loving Sabotage).
Every time I pick up a Nothomb novel I'm gripped by it, and I sit very still, and end up reading to the end, at which point I feel like someone just metaphorically stabbed me in the heart twenty times or so, and in a way that leaves me baffled and in love with the world.
I try to understand why her books aren't gobbled up by my friends and anticipated before they are published.
One reason might be because she never strays beyond the nihilistic reality of what it's like to be a woman. There's a certain cut-throat realism in this novel, and in every other Nothomb novel I've ever read. She frequently writes about just how awful women can be to one another.
Another reason that she is less lauded than she deserves might be the utter simplicity of her prose style. I don't think there is a single dependent clause anywhere in this novel.
A third reason might be because she is prolific, writing one short perfect novel after another. I think people tend to doubt the quality of the work of any writer who puts out very short books, very fast. Or they don't know where to start. (I would recommend starting with Loving Sabotage).
Every time I pick up a Nothomb novel I'm gripped by it, and I sit very still, and end up reading to the end, at which point I feel like someone just metaphorically stabbed me in the heart twenty times or so, and in a way that leaves me baffled and in love with the world.
January 7, 2025
Las novelas de Amélie son breves y abundantes, como las frutas de verano. Bueno, es un poco mi impresión, son sabrosas y efímeras, y mi alma las devora incansable. Ya sé que no todo el mundo piensa igual, es una autora que la amas o la odias.
En esta entrega?- porque de hecho parece que siempre cuente la misma historia desde diferentes ángulos - se centra una vez más en los sentimientos: el amor maternal o falta de, los celos, la envidia, la admiración y el desprecio, especialmente en el universo femenino, en que las relaciones madre-hija pueden ser maravillosas o catastróficas o las dos cosas a la vez. Los hombres que salen son figuras lejanas y confusas, que no parecen entender nada de lo que pasa.
Y como siempre hay un aire de fábula, de comedia - de burla? - que nos impide tomar en serio lo que escribe, como si fuera un divertimento, pero que en realidad está cargadito de explosivos.
- Fue una frase de Alfred Musset que me impresionó: 'Golpéate el corazón, ahí es donde reside el genio.'
En esta entrega?- porque de hecho parece que siempre cuente la misma historia desde diferentes ángulos - se centra una vez más en los sentimientos: el amor maternal o falta de, los celos, la envidia, la admiración y el desprecio, especialmente en el universo femenino, en que las relaciones madre-hija pueden ser maravillosas o catastróficas o las dos cosas a la vez. Los hombres que salen son figuras lejanas y confusas, que no parecen entender nada de lo que pasa.
Y como siempre hay un aire de fábula, de comedia - de burla? - que nos impide tomar en serio lo que escribe, como si fuera un divertimento, pero que en realidad está cargadito de explosivos.
- Fue una frase de Alfred Musset que me impresionó: 'Golpéate el corazón, ahí es donde reside el genio.'
January 10, 2021
WOW!!!!!! Review soon!
It’s only January.... but so far... it’s the most affecting book I’ve read in 2012
I’m Back:
Soon after I finished reading this book — which left me with more emotions and thoughts about parenting-mothers, daughters, siblings, grandparents, self, and even careers....
in a gut-wrenching - soul stirring way....
I had a little accident.
It was 4:30 am, in the dark. I fell over a small wooden table Paul had accidentally left out in front of our bed. My leg/ tibia, is banged up - ugly bruised and cut--but not broken.
I’m back under my covers trying to stop shivering- from the needed ice treatment.
There is a lot I’d like to say about this book — highly recommend it....HIGHLY!!!
....but the table-tripping has left my head pounding...
So....speeding up things...
I rather just get right to the point.
“Strike Your Heart”, by Amelie Nothomb....
would make a terrific buddy-read with a friend.
Two women/ two mothers....
Two men...man and a women...
Or....
a full-out book group discussion.
It’s not a long book - so there is little investment—but... it will definitely be a poignant book discussion.
Leaving some sample tidbits & excerpts... out of context to the totality of the entire book — and not wanting to post the ‘same’ excerpts that my friend Lainey included... (read her review- it’s great)..
Here goes:
A third child was born, Celia.
Diane, oldest child, noticed that her Maman was not only rosy with happiness, she was ecstatic.
“Diane could see there was something wrong. When Nicholas was born, Maman was happy and loved her baby; this time, Maman was delirious with joy, overflowing with love for Celia. She kissed her as if she were going to eat her. Over and over, possessed, she said things like ‘how I love you, my sweet baby’”.
“It was obscene”.
No one noticed that Diane was left out.
Diane, who had been such a sweet good girl, intelligent, and well behaved had accepted everything about her goddess mother.
“I’ve accepted everything, I’ve always been on your side, I’ve gone along with you even when you were blatantly unfair, I put up with your jealousy because I understood that you had expected more from life, I endured it in silence when you begrudged me other peoples complements and made me pay for them, I tolerated the fact that you lavished tenderness on my brother and never gave me so much as a crumb, but now, what you are doing here before me is evil. Just once, you did show me your love, and I knew there was nothing better on earth. I thought that you couldn’t demonstrate your love because I was a girl. But now, there before my eyes, this creature on whom you are showering the deepest love you have ever known—this creature is a girl. The explanation I have given for the workings of the universe is crumbling. And I understand that, quite simply, you hardly love me at all, you love me so little that it doesn’t even occur to you to hide your mad passion for this baby in anyway. The truth is, Maman, that if there is one virtue you are lacking, it is tact”.
“In that moment Diane stopped being a child. She did not become an adolescent or an adult: she was five years old. She was transformed into a disenchanted creature who was obsessed with not foundering in the abyss that this situation had created inside her”.
By the time Diane was in high school she didn’t even try to please her mother anymore.
Years went by, and Diane was in her seventh year of medical school about to become an intern and decided to specialize in cardiology.
Diane became close to her assistant professor in cardiology— Olivia Aubusson:
a start of a whole-new-can-of worms!!!! Wow!
“To impose its reign, jealousy needs no motive. That had been true for her mother’s and now it was true for Olivia. So, you could be a university professor, not to mention a charming, accomplished and beautiful woman, and still be jealous of the attention a former admirer
paid to your sickly, traumatized daughter”.
Thank you Lainey!!! I had owned this book awhile - kindle download- but it was your review that had me reach for it immediately.
Huge thanks!!
...A book I’ll remember...
...An author I want more of...
...Disturbing, sad, complex coming-of-age, gripping as hell, fairy-tale storytelling feelings at times, .....
and completely brilliant!!!
The reader will continue thinking about this novel long after finishing it!!
READ IT!!!!!
One tiny criticism— the author ( absolutely fantastic where it matters) overused the word ‘abyss’. Dozens of times was too much.
It’s only January.... but so far... it’s the most affecting book I’ve read in 2012
I’m Back:
Soon after I finished reading this book — which left me with more emotions and thoughts about parenting-mothers, daughters, siblings, grandparents, self, and even careers....
in a gut-wrenching - soul stirring way....
I had a little accident.
It was 4:30 am, in the dark. I fell over a small wooden table Paul had accidentally left out in front of our bed. My leg/ tibia, is banged up - ugly bruised and cut--but not broken.
I’m back under my covers trying to stop shivering- from the needed ice treatment.
There is a lot I’d like to say about this book — highly recommend it....HIGHLY!!!
....but the table-tripping has left my head pounding...
So....speeding up things...
I rather just get right to the point.
“Strike Your Heart”, by Amelie Nothomb....
would make a terrific buddy-read with a friend.
Two women/ two mothers....
Two men...man and a women...
Or....
a full-out book group discussion.
It’s not a long book - so there is little investment—but... it will definitely be a poignant book discussion.
Leaving some sample tidbits & excerpts... out of context to the totality of the entire book — and not wanting to post the ‘same’ excerpts that my friend Lainey included... (read her review- it’s great)..
Here goes:
A third child was born, Celia.
Diane, oldest child, noticed that her Maman was not only rosy with happiness, she was ecstatic.
“Diane could see there was something wrong. When Nicholas was born, Maman was happy and loved her baby; this time, Maman was delirious with joy, overflowing with love for Celia. She kissed her as if she were going to eat her. Over and over, possessed, she said things like ‘how I love you, my sweet baby’”.
“It was obscene”.
No one noticed that Diane was left out.
Diane, who had been such a sweet good girl, intelligent, and well behaved had accepted everything about her goddess mother.
“I’ve accepted everything, I’ve always been on your side, I’ve gone along with you even when you were blatantly unfair, I put up with your jealousy because I understood that you had expected more from life, I endured it in silence when you begrudged me other peoples complements and made me pay for them, I tolerated the fact that you lavished tenderness on my brother and never gave me so much as a crumb, but now, what you are doing here before me is evil. Just once, you did show me your love, and I knew there was nothing better on earth. I thought that you couldn’t demonstrate your love because I was a girl. But now, there before my eyes, this creature on whom you are showering the deepest love you have ever known—this creature is a girl. The explanation I have given for the workings of the universe is crumbling. And I understand that, quite simply, you hardly love me at all, you love me so little that it doesn’t even occur to you to hide your mad passion for this baby in anyway. The truth is, Maman, that if there is one virtue you are lacking, it is tact”.
“In that moment Diane stopped being a child. She did not become an adolescent or an adult: she was five years old. She was transformed into a disenchanted creature who was obsessed with not foundering in the abyss that this situation had created inside her”.
By the time Diane was in high school she didn’t even try to please her mother anymore.
Years went by, and Diane was in her seventh year of medical school about to become an intern and decided to specialize in cardiology.
Diane became close to her assistant professor in cardiology— Olivia Aubusson:
a start of a whole-new-can-of worms!!!! Wow!
“To impose its reign, jealousy needs no motive. That had been true for her mother’s and now it was true for Olivia. So, you could be a university professor, not to mention a charming, accomplished and beautiful woman, and still be jealous of the attention a former admirer
paid to your sickly, traumatized daughter”.
Thank you Lainey!!! I had owned this book awhile - kindle download- but it was your review that had me reach for it immediately.
Huge thanks!!
...A book I’ll remember...
...An author I want more of...
...Disturbing, sad, complex coming-of-age, gripping as hell, fairy-tale storytelling feelings at times, .....
and completely brilliant!!!
The reader will continue thinking about this novel long after finishing it!!
READ IT!!!!!
One tiny criticism— the author ( absolutely fantastic where it matters) overused the word ‘abyss’. Dozens of times was too much.
February 2, 2021
This novel is so different that I found it stimulating on many fronts. The psychological probing of the mother-daughter relationship and its disastrous effects when dysfunction is the centerpiece of one’s early life. The elucidation that self-awareness is always the starting place, but never enough to break one away from patterns of self-destructive harm. Breaking patterns can be done, but more is required. The spare prose invited my own internal conversation regarding female relationships and the joy and sometimes harm that we do ourselves and others. All of this along with a compelling plot made this a fascinating read. Do not stop by for exquisite descriptions or in-depth ruminations on the setting. I love both those things, but this book is not that. Amélie Nothomb goes for the heart.
The adolescent Marie is just setting out on the life she'd envisioned for herself. Beautiful, composed, and egocentric, the boys flock to her and she soaks up all the attention, a flower turned to the sun. Marie, however, is a flower with a blemish. She is happiest when all the flowers around her nod at her beauty or droop because she is soaking up all the moisture from the soil, leaving them without sustenance. When Marie finds herself pregnant, she feels her life derailed from what she had envisioned.
The book centers around Marie’s daughter, Diane. How capably Nothomb navigates the affairs of the heart around this mother-daughter duo, Marie and baby Diane. Nothomb writes, “Marie summoned her courage to gaze at the creature.” Marie does not bond with her baby. It could be postpartum depression. All the signs are there, fatigue and lack of interest. Marie’s mother thinks it’s jealousy because she has witnessed that Marie craves all the attention, no crumbs left-over.
Very affecting are the narrative passages that describe how Marie’s lack of attention felt to Diane as a baby. “Before, there used to be two high points in Diane’s existence, morning and evening. They corresponded to the moments when her father came and took her from her cradle and covered her with kisses, changed her diaper, and gave her a bottle, showering her all the while with words of love.” Soon, there will be the bright spots of two adoring grandparents in Diane’s life. Her mother’s presence is a void, and after siblings come along,...well, there are adjustments to be made in Diane’s psyche.
Nothomb plumbs Diane’s personality as she grows into an intelligent young woman. Choosing to become a cardiologist, Diane meets an assistant professor, Madame Aubusson, who becomes important. This relationship takes a trajectory that I must admit was expected and if things had gone in any other direction, I would have been disappointed. For all that, I did not expect the ending. An ending that will not soon be forgotten.
Amélie Nothomb is a pseudonym for Fabienne Claire Nothomb, an acclaimed author who lives in Paris. She uses a sparse but very directed prose style to great effect. At times, I felt she came close to the too-simple tale. I’m used to an author filling in more details, especially in regards to the setting. Very little attention is given to how a character looks, just that she is beautiful or ravaged. I found my mind filling in all the details. Even more than that, it’s a prose style that will induce a reader’s own vivid imagination, their own cogitations about relationships.
The adolescent Marie is just setting out on the life she'd envisioned for herself. Beautiful, composed, and egocentric, the boys flock to her and she soaks up all the attention, a flower turned to the sun. Marie, however, is a flower with a blemish. She is happiest when all the flowers around her nod at her beauty or droop because she is soaking up all the moisture from the soil, leaving them without sustenance. When Marie finds herself pregnant, she feels her life derailed from what she had envisioned.
The book centers around Marie’s daughter, Diane. How capably Nothomb navigates the affairs of the heart around this mother-daughter duo, Marie and baby Diane. Nothomb writes, “Marie summoned her courage to gaze at the creature.” Marie does not bond with her baby. It could be postpartum depression. All the signs are there, fatigue and lack of interest. Marie’s mother thinks it’s jealousy because she has witnessed that Marie craves all the attention, no crumbs left-over.
Very affecting are the narrative passages that describe how Marie’s lack of attention felt to Diane as a baby. “Before, there used to be two high points in Diane’s existence, morning and evening. They corresponded to the moments when her father came and took her from her cradle and covered her with kisses, changed her diaper, and gave her a bottle, showering her all the while with words of love.” Soon, there will be the bright spots of two adoring grandparents in Diane’s life. Her mother’s presence is a void, and after siblings come along,...well, there are adjustments to be made in Diane’s psyche.
Nothomb plumbs Diane’s personality as she grows into an intelligent young woman. Choosing to become a cardiologist, Diane meets an assistant professor, Madame Aubusson, who becomes important. This relationship takes a trajectory that I must admit was expected and if things had gone in any other direction, I would have been disappointed. For all that, I did not expect the ending. An ending that will not soon be forgotten.
Amélie Nothomb is a pseudonym for Fabienne Claire Nothomb, an acclaimed author who lives in Paris. She uses a sparse but very directed prose style to great effect. At times, I felt she came close to the too-simple tale. I’m used to an author filling in more details, especially in regards to the setting. Very little attention is given to how a character looks, just that she is beautiful or ravaged. I found my mind filling in all the details. Even more than that, it’s a prose style that will induce a reader’s own vivid imagination, their own cogitations about relationships.
September 29, 2019
Ich bin mittlerweile zu einem richtigen Fan von Amélie Nothomb mutiert, seitdem ich sie ungefähr vor zwei Jahren im Rahmen meiner Autorinnenchallenge entdeckt habe und schätze vor allem ihre relativ kurzen, knackigen und spannenden Psychogramme, die meist sehr treffend und punktgenau menschliches Wesen verschiedenster Art sezieren.
Auch in ihrem aktuellen Roman spielt Nothomb erneut ihre Stärken aus. Diesmal liegen toxische Mutter-Tochter-Beziehungen auf dem Tisch ihrer literarischen Pathologie und sie legt – obwohl der Roman wieder recht kurz und dünn geraten ist – wahrhaft komplex und pointiert sehr umfassend die wesentlichen Eckpunkte zu diesem Thema dar.
Die Geschichte beginnt mit der narzisstischen Marie, die sich bereits in der Schule den Mädchenschwarm und reichen Apothekerssohn Olivier schnappt und sehr früh ihr erstes Kind bekommt. Ihre erste Tochter Diane wird von Marie Zeit ihres Lebens völlig ignoriert und vernachlässigt. Als junge Mutter ist sie zuerst auf die Aufmerksamkeit eifersüchtig, die das Kind von ihr abzieht. Nach der Geburt von Dianes Bruder kann sie ihr zweites Kind annehmen, ihre darauf folgende Tochter Célia liebt sie innig und verzärtelt sie total, was auch wieder pathologische Züge annimmt. Was Nothomb hier meisterlich konstruiert, ist ein Leben voller Abwertung, Ablehnung, Demütigung und Gleichgültigkeit von Marie in Bezug auf Diane und eine komplett ungesunde Vereinnahmung ihrer zweiten Tochter Célia. Dabei ist Marie nicht wirklich bösartig, sondern nur narzisstisch gedankenlos und unreflektiert, sie ist sogar derart in ihren Rechtfertigungskonstrukten gefangen, dass sie Täter-Opfer-Umkehr betreibt und die Ablehnung seitens ihrer Tochter Diane verortet, die diese angeblich schon als Baby an den Tag gelegt hatte.
Der Vater Olivier hat seine Frau auf ein Podest gehoben und stellt deren Erziehungsmethoden nie in Frage, im Gegenteil, er ist in jedem völlig gerechtfertigten Konflikt auf der Seite seiner Ehefrau und somit gegen die Tochter. Nur die Großeltern haben die Situation gecheckt und kümmern sich als Bezugspersonen um Diane, was zur Folge hat, dass das Mädchen bereits in ganz jungen Jahren komplett mit ihrer Familie bricht und nur noch bei den Großeltern lebt. Da diese als Bezugspersonen ihre Arbeit sehr gut machen und ihr endlich die Liebe und Anerkennung zollen, die ein Kind benötigt, wird aus Diane trotz ihrer Traumata eine sehr erfolgreiche Erwachsene. Durch die Verletzungen der Kindheit und die anschließende Heilung kann Diane über sich selbst hinauswachsen, und als Ärztin hilft und heilt sie auch andere.
Leider sucht sie als Erwachsene die Freundschaft der Wissenschaftlerin Olivia, die ihrer Mutter bedauerlicherweise sehr ähnelt, ihre Tochter vernachlässigt, herabsetzt und ablehnt und andere Leute manipuliert und ausnutzt. Diane versucht für das arme Mädchen Mariel genauso eine starke Bezugsperson zu sein, wie es ihre Großeltern für sie waren. Doch Olivia ist weitaus bösartiger zu ihrer Tochter, als Dianes eigene Mutter es jemals war. Nach einem mittleren Konflikt, der sich eigentlich unter guten Freunden hätte ausräumen lassen können, weil Diane sich nicht mehr ausnutzen lässt und ihre eigene berufliche Laufbahn verfolgt, benutzt Olivia die Beziehung zwischen Diane und ihrer Tochter Mariel als Druckmittel und kappt diese aus Bosheit komplett. Das arme Mädchen hat schlussendlich überhaupt keine Bezugsperson mehr, weder Großeltern noch den Vater, der wahrscheinlich am Asperger-Syndrom leidet, um etwas menschliche Wärme zu bekommen. Dass diese Biografie im Endeffekt völlig schief geht und das Mädchen emotional total zerstört ist, versteht sich von selbst.
Was mir am meisten gefallen hat, sind die pädagogischen und psychologischen Grundaussagen, auf denen dieser Roman basiert. Wenn in einer toxischen Mutter-Tochter-Beziehung irgendeine – auch eine völlig fremde Bezugsperson – einspringt, kann sich das Kind dennoch zu einem psychisch gesunden Menschen entwickeln – wenn auch mit ein paar Verletzungen und Traumata, die sogar als Katalysator für eine außergewöhnliche Persönlichkeit dienen können.
Was mich ein bisschen irritiert hat, ist der Umstand, dass Diane als Kleinkind schon in frühen Jahren quasi fast ab zwei Jahren so viel Erkenntnis und Bewusstsein hat, dass sie fast wie eine erwachsene Therapeutin über ihre Beziehung zur Mutter philosophiert und die Situation analysiert. Ihr werden Gefühle zugeschrieben, die sie in dem Alter einfach auf Grund der Entwicklung noch nicht haben kann. Das ist einerseits sehr gruselig, aber andererseits sogar total grotesk, weil es eben so wenig authentisch ist.
Fazit: Ein als Lebensgeschichte verpacktes, ausgezeichnetes Psychogramm, das ich auf jeden Fall wärmstens empfehlen kann. Liest sich auch als Pageturner quasi in einem Rutsch durch.
Auch in ihrem aktuellen Roman spielt Nothomb erneut ihre Stärken aus. Diesmal liegen toxische Mutter-Tochter-Beziehungen auf dem Tisch ihrer literarischen Pathologie und sie legt – obwohl der Roman wieder recht kurz und dünn geraten ist – wahrhaft komplex und pointiert sehr umfassend die wesentlichen Eckpunkte zu diesem Thema dar.
Die Geschichte beginnt mit der narzisstischen Marie, die sich bereits in der Schule den Mädchenschwarm und reichen Apothekerssohn Olivier schnappt und sehr früh ihr erstes Kind bekommt. Ihre erste Tochter Diane wird von Marie Zeit ihres Lebens völlig ignoriert und vernachlässigt. Als junge Mutter ist sie zuerst auf die Aufmerksamkeit eifersüchtig, die das Kind von ihr abzieht. Nach der Geburt von Dianes Bruder kann sie ihr zweites Kind annehmen, ihre darauf folgende Tochter Célia liebt sie innig und verzärtelt sie total, was auch wieder pathologische Züge annimmt. Was Nothomb hier meisterlich konstruiert, ist ein Leben voller Abwertung, Ablehnung, Demütigung und Gleichgültigkeit von Marie in Bezug auf Diane und eine komplett ungesunde Vereinnahmung ihrer zweiten Tochter Célia. Dabei ist Marie nicht wirklich bösartig, sondern nur narzisstisch gedankenlos und unreflektiert, sie ist sogar derart in ihren Rechtfertigungskonstrukten gefangen, dass sie Täter-Opfer-Umkehr betreibt und die Ablehnung seitens ihrer Tochter Diane verortet, die diese angeblich schon als Baby an den Tag gelegt hatte.
Der Vater Olivier hat seine Frau auf ein Podest gehoben und stellt deren Erziehungsmethoden nie in Frage, im Gegenteil, er ist in jedem völlig gerechtfertigten Konflikt auf der Seite seiner Ehefrau und somit gegen die Tochter. Nur die Großeltern haben die Situation gecheckt und kümmern sich als Bezugspersonen um Diane, was zur Folge hat, dass das Mädchen bereits in ganz jungen Jahren komplett mit ihrer Familie bricht und nur noch bei den Großeltern lebt. Da diese als Bezugspersonen ihre Arbeit sehr gut machen und ihr endlich die Liebe und Anerkennung zollen, die ein Kind benötigt, wird aus Diane trotz ihrer Traumata eine sehr erfolgreiche Erwachsene. Durch die Verletzungen der Kindheit und die anschließende Heilung kann Diane über sich selbst hinauswachsen, und als Ärztin hilft und heilt sie auch andere.
Leider sucht sie als Erwachsene die Freundschaft der Wissenschaftlerin Olivia, die ihrer Mutter bedauerlicherweise sehr ähnelt, ihre Tochter vernachlässigt, herabsetzt und ablehnt und andere Leute manipuliert und ausnutzt. Diane versucht für das arme Mädchen Mariel genauso eine starke Bezugsperson zu sein, wie es ihre Großeltern für sie waren. Doch Olivia ist weitaus bösartiger zu ihrer Tochter, als Dianes eigene Mutter es jemals war. Nach einem mittleren Konflikt, der sich eigentlich unter guten Freunden hätte ausräumen lassen können, weil Diane sich nicht mehr ausnutzen lässt und ihre eigene berufliche Laufbahn verfolgt, benutzt Olivia die Beziehung zwischen Diane und ihrer Tochter Mariel als Druckmittel und kappt diese aus Bosheit komplett. Das arme Mädchen hat schlussendlich überhaupt keine Bezugsperson mehr, weder Großeltern noch den Vater, der wahrscheinlich am Asperger-Syndrom leidet, um etwas menschliche Wärme zu bekommen. Dass diese Biografie im Endeffekt völlig schief geht und das Mädchen emotional total zerstört ist, versteht sich von selbst.
Was mir am meisten gefallen hat, sind die pädagogischen und psychologischen Grundaussagen, auf denen dieser Roman basiert. Wenn in einer toxischen Mutter-Tochter-Beziehung irgendeine – auch eine völlig fremde Bezugsperson – einspringt, kann sich das Kind dennoch zu einem psychisch gesunden Menschen entwickeln – wenn auch mit ein paar Verletzungen und Traumata, die sogar als Katalysator für eine außergewöhnliche Persönlichkeit dienen können.
Was mich ein bisschen irritiert hat, ist der Umstand, dass Diane als Kleinkind schon in frühen Jahren quasi fast ab zwei Jahren so viel Erkenntnis und Bewusstsein hat, dass sie fast wie eine erwachsene Therapeutin über ihre Beziehung zur Mutter philosophiert und die Situation analysiert. Ihr werden Gefühle zugeschrieben, die sie in dem Alter einfach auf Grund der Entwicklung noch nicht haben kann. Das ist einerseits sehr gruselig, aber andererseits sogar total grotesk, weil es eben so wenig authentisch ist.
Fazit: Ein als Lebensgeschichte verpacktes, ausgezeichnetes Psychogramm, das ich auf jeden Fall wärmstens empfehlen kann. Liest sich auch als Pageturner quasi in einem Rutsch durch.
March 15, 2019
J'ai lu le Nothomb 2017 en une journée. Tandis que c'est faisable pour tous ses romans, ce dernier d'Amélie est davantage unputdownable et un vrai pageturner. Commençons par le titre génial; je l'adore. J'adore aussi tout ce que je recherche normalement dans les romans Nothombiens et qui ne manquaient pas dans Frappe Toi Le Coeur; les belles citations, les dialogues intéressants, les thèmes de beauté et de violence humaines vues sous une loupe d'humour noir, les personnages eccentriques et uniques, le dénouement comique de l'histoire, et sa fin presque toujours inattendue. Dans ce roman je suis tombée amoureuse de Nothomb de nouveau parce qu'y a dedans un aspect neuf qui signale une maturité et un professionalisme bien marqué. Ce roman est à la fois un coming of age qui suit Diane qui grandit devant nos yeux, un family saga qui trace trois générations de femmes, un roman psychologique, sentimental et dramatique où le monde interne des charactères est très bien développé et exposé au lecteur, un roman symbolique qui montre un microcosme des dynamiques entre mère et fille, et finalement un roman expérimental qui tente explorer les thèmes de la maternité, le mépris, l'amour, la jalousie, l'amitié, l'éducation, la haine, la famille, le sexisme, le travail de la femme, la justice, et le role des femmes en famille et en société. C'est un vrai oeuvre de génie. Bravo Amélie, you outdid yourself! Amélie ne s'est pas seulement moqué des relations mère-fille cruelles et toxiques; elle a bien exposé, analysé, critiqué, et enfin trouvé la solution à ce dilemme! Faut se tourner vers le coeur, cet organe de génie.
Et maintenant je devrais attendre 12 mois pour lire un nouveau Nothomb. Uh-oh!!!
Et maintenant je devrais attendre 12 mois pour lire un nouveau Nothomb. Uh-oh!!!
October 18, 2021
La maternidad vista desde una óptica insusual, la fractura emocional en la relación madre hija/hijo y sus indelebles consecuencias, los celos y los desesperados parches emocionales que la hija en cuestión necesita encontrar. Lejos de la mordacidad de "Estupor y temblores" o la sorprendente "Cosmética del enemigo"(palabras mayores, para mí) Nothomb elige narrar con un estilo muy simple, casi minimalista. Amelie sabe meter mano en el alma humana y exhibir, sin pudores, lo que sea que encuentre ahí.
April 30, 2019
Translation widget on The blog!!!
Un roman scurt ca întindere, complex ca trăire și semnificație. Despre o relație toxică mama - fiica, despre sechelele pe care această relație le lasă în suflet. Despre gelozie și dispreț, dar si despre linia fina dintre cele doua.
Recenzia mea completă o găsiți aici:
https://justreadingmybooks.wordpress....
Un roman scurt ca întindere, complex ca trăire și semnificație. Despre o relație toxică mama - fiica, despre sechelele pe care această relație le lasă în suflet. Despre gelozie și dispreț, dar si despre linia fina dintre cele doua.
Recenzia mea completă o găsiți aici:
https://justreadingmybooks.wordpress....
March 3, 2019
[3.5] My first Amélie Nothomb book (and the author's 25th novel). I don't think I've ever read a novella which read so much like a short story. Its economy of style and summary descriptions of time passing are like a paradigm of the short form's approach to long durations. In tone and content it feels like an intermingling of realist fable with case studies from psychology and self-help texts.
The focus is family psychodrama. In 1971, beautiful, egotistical teenager Marie has started secretarial college, and can't wait to launch herself into the era's burgeoning youth culture and put her stamp on life: "Wherever you went, you heard: “Make way for the young.”". But within 6 months she is pregnant and married to the local eligible bachelor (a genuinely nice young chap) in her provincial French home town - and she feels that *her* story is over. Thereafter there are only a handful of references to culture or the news, and the reader is placed into the inner life of Marie's perceptive eldest daughter Diane, trying to come to terms with a mother who is jealous of her. The narrative follows Diane from babyhood through her exemplary school career and the birth two siblings - while she spends more and more time with her loving grandparents - to university as a workaholic postgrad medical student, where, with the magnetic female lecturer she assists, she re-enacts her relationship to her mother.
Much like psychological case studies, there are aspects of Diane, Marie and their relatives which can be achingly relatable, or familiar from people one knows, but the story and pattern is a little too tidy. Real people, if one knows them well enough - not just via brief acquaintance or forum posts - don't often conform this neatly to labels; they have bits and pieces that don't fit, or they seem partly like one type and partly like others.
My reading experience oscillated between emotive identification and finding plot points contrived or plasticky. I loved Diane's realisation from an early age that no matter how much you understand the inner workings of a difficult parent, above-average insight and empathy does nothing to change them; apparently you're good at this thing, they may even say so, but it's irrelevant: the brick wall remains steadfast. I've seen a family where a lovely grandma, apparently inexplicably, had also produced a daughter who was very unpleasant to some of her own children, and tried to make up for it. And Mme Aubusson was different enough from Marie - and in the initial descriptions of her similar to several teachers I liked but most other kids were scared of - that I found it wholly believable that Diane might be drawn to her. The book is spot on about the attitudes of some medics of that older generation:
"You’ll see what it’s like, dealing with heart patients: nine times out of ten, the pathology is caused by excess fat, and the treatment means putting the patient on a diet. When you tell them to stop eating butter, they’ll look at you as if you were a murderer. When they come back three months later and you’re surprised there’s been no change, they will tell you a blatant lie: ‘Doctor, I don’t understand, I followed all your recommendations.’"
But deaths and other big changes in the novel occurred at conveniently deus-ex-machina times; the conversations between child siblings read as if the kids already had grounding in psychology. I could absolutely believe little Diane's inner insight, which was beautifully described as an adult might articulate inchoate understanding many years later, but the utterances often read as if the kids had got the concepts from a self-help book, rather than expressing them as experienced, or as if thinking of them anew.
Even more so after reading this New Statesman interview with Leïla Slimani in which she says she interviewed psychiatrists to help build the sex-addict protagonist of Adèle, it felt plausible that Nothomb had used case-studies as a starting point for Strike Your Heart, at least as much as the Alfred de Musset quote which inspired the title and, in part, Diane's career.
Before the last 18 months or so, I was very interested in novels that provided opportunities for psychological processing - but now, I feel like I have gone over the same ground enough times. These books are no longer as compelling as they were, and I'd rather read something with a more outward focus. Not necessarily a stack of state-of-the-nation novels, but a book in which the action is related to the wider world. At the moment, I'm also reading Annie Ernaux's The Years: a 'collective biography' of Frenchwomen born during the Second World War, replete with folk and pop culture, and life lived against a backdrop of politics and social change. That is my catnip, and almost every paragraph is thrilling. Whereas Nothomb's chamber-piece Strike Your Heart - although in its narrow focus appropriately evocative of Marie's effects on Diane, and likely to connect deeply with readers who are in the right place for it - doesn't press the buttons it would have if I'd read it a few years ago, and I'm more aware of its flaws because I hear beyond the chords striking in my head.
As in the Latvian novella Soviet Milk (English tr. 2018, Peirene Press) also about a difficult mother-daughter relationship of the same era in which one of the pair is a doctor (these two books would make a good dual review), I felt that the author doesn't give enough attention to the social and historical circumstances that lead the mother to being in the position she is. i.e. To being a mother in her early twenties when, had she been that age more recently, she may be more likely to have decided motherhood was not for her at all because of her mental health and dedication to work (Soviet Milk) or to postpone it because she wanted to live 'for herself' more first, as has become entirely normal.
This is a book that could be a 5-star experience for the right reader, although it wasn't for me. It doesn't entirely put me off reading more Nothomb, especially as many of her books are short, but if I tried one more and also found this case-study like aspect to it, I wouldn't be keen to read further volumes.
The focus is family psychodrama. In 1971, beautiful, egotistical teenager Marie has started secretarial college, and can't wait to launch herself into the era's burgeoning youth culture and put her stamp on life: "Wherever you went, you heard: “Make way for the young.”". But within 6 months she is pregnant and married to the local eligible bachelor (a genuinely nice young chap) in her provincial French home town - and she feels that *her* story is over. Thereafter there are only a handful of references to culture or the news, and the reader is placed into the inner life of Marie's perceptive eldest daughter Diane, trying to come to terms with a mother who is jealous of her. The narrative follows Diane from babyhood through her exemplary school career and the birth two siblings - while she spends more and more time with her loving grandparents - to university as a workaholic postgrad medical student, where, with the magnetic female lecturer she assists, she re-enacts her relationship to her mother.
Much like psychological case studies, there are aspects of Diane, Marie and their relatives which can be achingly relatable, or familiar from people one knows, but the story and pattern is a little too tidy. Real people, if one knows them well enough - not just via brief acquaintance or forum posts - don't often conform this neatly to labels; they have bits and pieces that don't fit, or they seem partly like one type and partly like others.
My reading experience oscillated between emotive identification and finding plot points contrived or plasticky. I loved Diane's realisation from an early age that no matter how much you understand the inner workings of a difficult parent, above-average insight and empathy does nothing to change them; apparently you're good at this thing, they may even say so, but it's irrelevant: the brick wall remains steadfast. I've seen a family where a lovely grandma, apparently inexplicably, had also produced a daughter who was very unpleasant to some of her own children, and tried to make up for it. And Mme Aubusson was different enough from Marie - and in the initial descriptions of her similar to several teachers I liked but most other kids were scared of - that I found it wholly believable that Diane might be drawn to her. The book is spot on about the attitudes of some medics of that older generation:
"You’ll see what it’s like, dealing with heart patients: nine times out of ten, the pathology is caused by excess fat, and the treatment means putting the patient on a diet. When you tell them to stop eating butter, they’ll look at you as if you were a murderer. When they come back three months later and you’re surprised there’s been no change, they will tell you a blatant lie: ‘Doctor, I don’t understand, I followed all your recommendations.’"
But deaths and other big changes in the novel occurred at conveniently deus-ex-machina times; the conversations between child siblings read as if the kids already had grounding in psychology. I could absolutely believe little Diane's inner insight, which was beautifully described as an adult might articulate inchoate understanding many years later, but the utterances often read as if the kids had got the concepts from a self-help book, rather than expressing them as experienced, or as if thinking of them anew.
Even more so after reading this New Statesman interview with Leïla Slimani in which she says she interviewed psychiatrists to help build the sex-addict protagonist of Adèle, it felt plausible that Nothomb had used case-studies as a starting point for Strike Your Heart, at least as much as the Alfred de Musset quote which inspired the title and, in part, Diane's career.
Before the last 18 months or so, I was very interested in novels that provided opportunities for psychological processing - but now, I feel like I have gone over the same ground enough times. These books are no longer as compelling as they were, and I'd rather read something with a more outward focus. Not necessarily a stack of state-of-the-nation novels, but a book in which the action is related to the wider world. At the moment, I'm also reading Annie Ernaux's The Years: a 'collective biography' of Frenchwomen born during the Second World War, replete with folk and pop culture, and life lived against a backdrop of politics and social change. That is my catnip, and almost every paragraph is thrilling. Whereas Nothomb's chamber-piece Strike Your Heart - although in its narrow focus appropriately evocative of Marie's effects on Diane, and likely to connect deeply with readers who are in the right place for it - doesn't press the buttons it would have if I'd read it a few years ago, and I'm more aware of its flaws because I hear beyond the chords striking in my head.
As in the Latvian novella Soviet Milk (English tr. 2018, Peirene Press) also about a difficult mother-daughter relationship of the same era in which one of the pair is a doctor (these two books would make a good dual review), I felt that the author doesn't give enough attention to the social and historical circumstances that lead the mother to being in the position she is. i.e. To being a mother in her early twenties when, had she been that age more recently, she may be more likely to have decided motherhood was not for her at all because of her mental health and dedication to work (Soviet Milk) or to postpone it because she wanted to live 'for herself' more first, as has become entirely normal.
This is a book that could be a 5-star experience for the right reader, although it wasn't for me. It doesn't entirely put me off reading more Nothomb, especially as many of her books are short, but if I tried one more and also found this case-study like aspect to it, I wouldn't be keen to read further volumes.
April 12, 2022
Per instaurare il proprio regno, la gelosia non ha bisogno di alcun motivo
In questi anni sulla Nothomb ho letto pareri contrastanti, mi sono fatto l’idea che sia una sorta di JCO europea, e con lei ci si possa imbattere indistintamente in romanzi ottimi e pessimi. La misura delle due scrittrici è sicuramente diversa, la prosa di Amèlie è scarna, quella di Joyce abbondante. Ero a mio agio con la lattuga a pranzo e il divieto di mangiare i cioccolatini anche se entrambe erano manifestazioni di un disagio.
La Rochefoucauld scriveva:
Ci si vanta spesso delle passioni, anche delle più criminose; ma l'invidia è una passione timida e vergognosa, che non si osa mai confessare.
Amèlie Nothomb nel suo libro mette a nudo quella dei suoi personaggi, soprattutto quella di Marie a cui se avessero spiegato che “il contrappasso dell’invidia è l’invidia stessa e non esiste sentimento più meschino al mondo, lei avrebbe fatto spallucce”.
Marie diventa madre a vent’anni e sviluppa nei confronti della figlia una serie di sentimenti negativi che vanno dal sentirsi defraudata della propria giovinezza al vedersi depredata della propria corona.
Ancora La Rochefoucauld:
La gelosia è il più grande di tutti i mali, e quello che impietosisce di meno le persone che la provocano.
La Nothomb ci descrive il rapporto con la figlia Diane che sta crescendo, talvolta si ha come l’impressione che sia un’analisi autobiografica postuma, che le considerazioni della bambina sul comportamento della madre siano troppo precoci. Gli anni passano, Marie diventa madre di Nicolà e marca ancora di più l’insofferenza verso la primo genita. Le cose si esasperano quando nasce Celie e Marie, ormai trentenne, capisce che probabilmente sarà l’ultima volta in cui reciterà nel ruolo di mamma. Diane definisce assoluta mancanza di tatto il comportamento squilibrato della madre, con lei da sempre scostante e anaffettiva e con la sorellina amorevole in modo morboso.
Il breve romanzo ci racconta gli effetti a lunga scadenza di questa educazione sballata dei figli favorita da un padre orbo e assente.
Diane sarà la protagonista dell’ultima parte del libro, non potrà sfuggire alla carenza di affetto che ne ha caratterizzato l’infanzia, essa inconsciamente guiderà la formazione dei suoi legami post adolescenziali.
Era la mia prima Nothomb, si è guadagnata sicuramente il pass per un altro ingresso nella mia libreria.
In questi anni sulla Nothomb ho letto pareri contrastanti, mi sono fatto l’idea che sia una sorta di JCO europea, e con lei ci si possa imbattere indistintamente in romanzi ottimi e pessimi. La misura delle due scrittrici è sicuramente diversa, la prosa di Amèlie è scarna, quella di Joyce abbondante. Ero a mio agio con la lattuga a pranzo e il divieto di mangiare i cioccolatini anche se entrambe erano manifestazioni di un disagio.
La Rochefoucauld scriveva:
Ci si vanta spesso delle passioni, anche delle più criminose; ma l'invidia è una passione timida e vergognosa, che non si osa mai confessare.
Amèlie Nothomb nel suo libro mette a nudo quella dei suoi personaggi, soprattutto quella di Marie a cui se avessero spiegato che “il contrappasso dell’invidia è l’invidia stessa e non esiste sentimento più meschino al mondo, lei avrebbe fatto spallucce”.
Marie diventa madre a vent’anni e sviluppa nei confronti della figlia una serie di sentimenti negativi che vanno dal sentirsi defraudata della propria giovinezza al vedersi depredata della propria corona.
Ancora La Rochefoucauld:
La gelosia è il più grande di tutti i mali, e quello che impietosisce di meno le persone che la provocano.
La Nothomb ci descrive il rapporto con la figlia Diane che sta crescendo, talvolta si ha come l’impressione che sia un’analisi autobiografica postuma, che le considerazioni della bambina sul comportamento della madre siano troppo precoci. Gli anni passano, Marie diventa madre di Nicolà e marca ancora di più l’insofferenza verso la primo genita. Le cose si esasperano quando nasce Celie e Marie, ormai trentenne, capisce che probabilmente sarà l’ultima volta in cui reciterà nel ruolo di mamma. Diane definisce assoluta mancanza di tatto il comportamento squilibrato della madre, con lei da sempre scostante e anaffettiva e con la sorellina amorevole in modo morboso.
Il breve romanzo ci racconta gli effetti a lunga scadenza di questa educazione sballata dei figli favorita da un padre orbo e assente.
Diane sarà la protagonista dell’ultima parte del libro, non potrà sfuggire alla carenza di affetto che ne ha caratterizzato l’infanzia, essa inconsciamente guiderà la formazione dei suoi legami post adolescenziali.
Era la mia prima Nothomb, si è guadagnata sicuramente il pass per un altro ingresso nella mia libreria.
July 11, 2020
Marie a város legszebb lánya. És ezt tudja is. A paraziták egy bizonyos (speciális) típusát képviseli: mások féltékenységén élősködik. Ez az ő tejszínhabos eperkoktélja, dupla eszpresszója, ami feltölti energiával. Hogy maximalizálja a többi lány féltékenységfaktorát, össze is jön a város legjobb partijának számító patikusfiúval, és (kvázi véletlenül) szül neki egy gyönyörű gyereket. Csakhogy ezzel a másik oldalra kerül, abba a világba, ahol a gyermek (Diane) kapja a fényt helyette – megtapasztalja hát ő is a féltékenység fájdalmát, azt, amit másokban oly szívesen ébresztett. Innentől Diane a kulcsfigura, azt látjuk, hogyan hat rá az anyai szeretettelenség, hogyan dolgozza fel, hogy privát istennője kizárja őt az életéből.
Mindenképpen le kell szögeznünk: Nothomb nem annyira regényt írt, sokkal inkább példázatot. Vagy ha úgy tetszik, illusztrációt a lexikon „mérgező szülők” szócikkéhez. A karakterek erősek, élesen vannak megrajzolva, szinte el lehet velük vágni az ujjunk. De diverzifikáltságot ne nagyon várjunk tőlük: azért vannak, hogy szemléltessenek valamit, kiszolgáljanak egyetlen konkrét írói célt. Ugyanígy, a valószerűség is esetenként csorbát szenved. Itt van például Marie három gyermeke. Diane, akit nem szeret, Célia, akit túlságosan (egészségtelenül) szeret, és a középső csemete, Nicolas, akit viszont pont jól szeret. No most nem vagyok gyermekpszichológus, így nem zárnám ki, hogy egyetlen anya három gyereket tud három ennyire különböző módon szeretni. Ám azért merőben életszerűtlen. Inkább arról lehet szó, hogy tömörítési szempontból Nothombnak így volt praktikus, egyetlen anyán keresztül mutatni be mindkét szélsőséges viszonyulást, plusz még az optimálisat is. Ez a fajta megközelítés (az életszerű alávetése a mondanivalónak) így vagy úgy az egész regényt végigkíséri. Ami nem önmagában baj, csak ne érjen minket váratlanul. Különben meg lendületes és plasztikus, a maga finoman didaktikus módján elgondolkodtató pszichiátriai esetleírás, szépirodalmi köntösben.
Mindenképpen le kell szögeznünk: Nothomb nem annyira regényt írt, sokkal inkább példázatot. Vagy ha úgy tetszik, illusztrációt a lexikon „mérgező szülők” szócikkéhez. A karakterek erősek, élesen vannak megrajzolva, szinte el lehet velük vágni az ujjunk. De diverzifikáltságot ne nagyon várjunk tőlük: azért vannak, hogy szemléltessenek valamit, kiszolgáljanak egyetlen konkrét írói célt. Ugyanígy, a valószerűség is esetenként csorbát szenved. Itt van például Marie három gyermeke. Diane, akit nem szeret, Célia, akit túlságosan (egészségtelenül) szeret, és a középső csemete, Nicolas, akit viszont pont jól szeret. No most nem vagyok gyermekpszichológus, így nem zárnám ki, hogy egyetlen anya három gyereket tud három ennyire különböző módon szeretni. Ám azért merőben életszerűtlen. Inkább arról lehet szó, hogy tömörítési szempontból Nothombnak így volt praktikus, egyetlen anyán keresztül mutatni be mindkét szélsőséges viszonyulást, plusz még az optimálisat is. Ez a fajta megközelítés (az életszerű alávetése a mondanivalónak) így vagy úgy az egész regényt végigkíséri. Ami nem önmagában baj, csak ne érjen minket váratlanul. Különben meg lendületes és plasztikus, a maga finoman didaktikus módján elgondolkodtató pszichiátriai esetleírás, szépirodalmi köntösben.
May 20, 2020
Apparently, with Amélie Nothomb (° 1966) you can only go two ways: either you love her or you hate her. I can see what attracts many people to her books: it are usually short, unpretentious stories, in a very economical, efficient style; but at the same time she always dives inexorably into the dark side of her characters, focusing on the blackest spots in the human soul. She does the same here, in the story of the young Diane who grows up with a loveless mother, is traumatized by it and derives her strength from the fight against that trauma. It is a fascinating psychological study, clearly portrayed, illustrating the cruelty of life.
But for me, it didn’t really captivate because several aspects of the story really are too implausible: the extensive reflexive analyses by toddler Diane, for example, or the complete metamorphosis that Olivia, the teacher she admires, goes through, and finally the too obvious dramatic outcome of the story. Apparently, all those incongruities are part of the "Nothomb universe", so anyone who knows her oeuvre will not be surprised. It's a nice read, but it didn’t resonate with me.
But for me, it didn’t really captivate because several aspects of the story really are too implausible: the extensive reflexive analyses by toddler Diane, for example, or the complete metamorphosis that Olivia, the teacher she admires, goes through, and finally the too obvious dramatic outcome of the story. Apparently, all those incongruities are part of the "Nothomb universe", so anyone who knows her oeuvre will not be surprised. It's a nice read, but it didn’t resonate with me.
November 13, 2018
My husband brought this book home, sadly, after reading the synopsis and thinking of me.
It's a quick and frustratingly brief tale that is spot on in the depiction of the irreparable damage caused early in life and the futility of trying to fix it. This would have made a great full length novel, but there's something about how the years and decades in this book flew by that made my heart hurt. So much loss and waste, and we never change, and we never get to do it over.
I suppose this marks the beginning of my cheery holiday reading.
It's a quick and frustratingly brief tale that is spot on in the depiction of the irreparable damage caused early in life and the futility of trying to fix it. This would have made a great full length novel, but there's something about how the years and decades in this book flew by that made my heart hurt. So much loss and waste, and we never change, and we never get to do it over.
I suppose this marks the beginning of my cheery holiday reading.
November 23, 2023
امیلی نوتومب رو تازه کشف کردم و تبدیل شده به یکی از محبوب ترین نویسنده های که میشناسم. انقدر خلاقیت نوتومب و روش بیانش جالبه که همیشه خواننده رو غافلگیر میکنه. تو کتاب های نوتومب با شخصیت های پیچید هو مدرنی روبرو میشین که با مشکلات و زندگی گذشته و تروماهاشون به طور جالبی کنار میان و گاهی دست به کارهای متفاوتی میزنن. این کتاب رو به همه عاشقان ادبیات مدرن پیشنهاد میکنم. اونایی که میخوان غافلگیر بشن و از روانکاوی شخصیت ها لذت میبرن.
اگربخوام یه خلاصه ی بدون اسپویل بگم توی این کتاب داستان زندگی یه دختر رو از زمان آشنایی پدر مادرش تا به دنیا اومدن، نوجوانی و بزرگسالیش همراه میشیم.
به نظرم نوتومب کتاب رو جای خوبی تموم کرد و اگر ادامه اش میداد چیز جالبی در نمیومد. با اینکه با چند تا سوال تنهامون میذاره اما به نظرم جای خیلی مناسبیه. امیدوارم اگر میخواین برین سراغش ازش لذت ببرین.
اگربخوام یه خلاصه ی بدون اسپویل بگم توی این کتاب داستان زندگی یه دختر رو از زمان آشنایی پدر مادرش تا به دنیا اومدن، نوجوانی و بزرگسالیش همراه میشیم.
به نظرم نوتومب کتاب رو جای خوبی تموم کرد و اگر ادامه اش میداد چیز جالبی در نمیومد. با اینکه با چند تا سوال تنهامون میذاره اما به نظرم جای خیلی مناسبیه. امیدوارم اگر میخواین برین سراغش ازش لذت ببرین.
January 5, 2020
İyi biri olmak, çocuk sahibi olmak, anne olmak, evlat olmak, başarılı olmak, kıskanç olmak... Hepsi hakkında düşündürüp durdu Acıyla Çarp Kalbim. Annelik müessesinin her koşulda yüceltilmesini yerle bir etmeye çalışmış yazar. Güzel de yapmış bunu. Özellikle bir annenin her çocuğuna aynı anneliği yapamayacağını, hakkaniyetli olamayacağını çok güzel anlatmış. Ve bu şekilde ebeveynleri tarafından haksızlığa uğrayan bir çocuğun neler hissedebileceğini, tüm bunların hayatındaki yansımasını çok güzel anlatmış. İçim burkuldu okurken.
Tüm çatısı "kıskançlık" gibi güçlü ve insana bir sürü şey yaptırabilecek kavram üzerinden kurulmuş çarpıcı bir roman okumak isterseniz tavsiye ederim.
Tüm çatısı "kıskançlık" gibi güçlü ve insana bir sürü şey yaptırabilecek kavram üzerinden kurulmuş çarpıcı bir roman okumak isterseniz tavsiye ederim.
February 9, 2020
"Ev acıtan yerdir."
Anne kız ilişkilerini görüyoruz kitapta, anneliğin her çocuğa aynı mesafede olmaması, kendi çocuğuna duyulan kıskançlık...
Annelik o kadar yüce bir şey gibi görülürken, aslında o kişilerin iç dünyaları beklediğimizin çok dışında olabiliyor...
"Acıyla çarp kalbim, deha sende çünkü."
💚
Anne kız ilişkilerini görüyoruz kitapta, anneliğin her çocuğa aynı mesafede olmaması, kendi çocuğuna duyulan kıskançlık...
Annelik o kadar yüce bir şey gibi görülürken, aslında o kişilerin iç dünyaları beklediğimizin çok dışında olabiliyor...
"Acıyla çarp kalbim, deha sende çünkü."
💚
February 11, 2022
Me encantó descubrir a Nothomb por este libro. A pesar de ser corto, la autora logra plasmar con la historia de Diane y su madre, lo importante y poderoso que es el lazo afectivo que nos une con nuestros padres, cómo la integración de la misma puede moldear nuestra personalidad y las futuras relaciones que se formarán a lo largo de la vida.
September 2, 2017
Comme chaque année, j'étais impatient de découvrir le nouveau Nothomb, et encore une fois, je l'ai lu d'une traite. On est ici dans du Nothomb très différent des précédents je trouve, je suis sorti remué de ma lecture. Ce roman est un roman "constitué que de nerfs" comme Amélie Nothomb le décrit elle-même, et ça ce sent. Le thème principal est la jalousie, poussée au maximum. Et nous, lecteurs, on observe, et comme Diane, l'héroïne principale, on subit, subit, subit, en essayant de limiter les dégâts. Un roman très noir, donc. Et après 26 romans, ça fait plaisir d'être surpris à ce point par Amélie Nothomb, qui signe ici l'un de ses meilleurs romans.
October 28, 2018
Have I missed something? There are glowing reviews for this novel on Goodreads but for me this stayed firmly at the level of a mass paperback / airport novel. The sort you can read in an hour or two and are thin on plot and trope-ridden.
June 23, 2017
Nothomb, cru 2017. Une fable cruelle mêlant amitiés féminines, relations à la mère, jalousies et perversions. Un pur délice de noirceur humaine.
September 12, 2019
Lo he disfrutado tanto que me ha dado pena que terminase!!!! : (
December 31, 2018
Na štai metus pabaigsiu su 91 perskaityta knyga. Tokį skaičių lėmė ne kažkokios lenktynės dėl perskaityto kiekio, ne noras pasipuikuoti, o tiesiog nenumaldomas alkis literatūrai ir knygoms. Dar vienas faktorius, įtakojęs tokį kiekį, kad šiemet stengiausi rinktis labai įvairią literatūrą:nuo vaikų ir paauglių iki suaugusiųjų ar net vaikų psichologijos, kas man labai svarbu auginant sūnų. 2018 metus pradėjau su vaikų knyga, o pabaigsiu su labai rimta, kuri pirmiausia mane paveikė kaip mamą. Sunku ir pradėti kalbėti apie tai, ką išgyvena mergaitės, merginos, kai joms pavydi jų pačių motinos. Sakyčiau, tai nesąmoningas elgesys su savo vaiku, kuomet tu iš vakarėlių liūtės turi virsti pavargusia, nuolat vaiko dėmesio reikalaujančia mama arba ta, kuri dėl savo vaiko atiduotų bei paaukotų viską, netgi gyvybę. Bet tapimą mama, juk moterys renkasi pačios, dažniausiai niekieno neverčiamos. Tokia buvo ir Mari, tikra vakarėlių pažiba ir naktinio gyvenimo fėja, kuri visada galvodavo, kad jei moteris anksti susilaukia vaikų, tai jos gyvenimas jau yra sugadintas. Bet ji dar nežino, kad tiesiog gyvenimo pokštui iškrėtus jai šunybę, ji pastos, laimingai ištekės, tačiau laimė nusisuks nuo jos supratus, kad ji pavydi savo gimusiai dukrai. Dėl ko? Jos nenusakomo grožio, žmonių dėmesio, to švelnumo, kurį turi gimę kūdikiai. Nežinau, galbūt ne man teisti ar kritikuoti, tačiau tokias moteris aš vadinu nesusitupėjusiomis ir savimylom, kuriom garbė ir dėmesys yra svarbiau už jų pačių vaiką. Skaitydama aš ir pykau ant Mari taip, kad galėčiau jai tokį moralą pasakyti, kad ojojoj. Bet tekdavo save nuraminti, kad čia tik knyga, o aš tik mama skaitytoja drąsiai stojanti ginti vaikus. Visa knyga persmelkta tokio liūdnumo aura, kad norėjosi padėti, mesti, vėl imti, vėl padėti. Tačiau ir Mari sulaukia atsako iš savo vaikų su kaupu kaip ir priklauso motinai, kuri kaskart gimus naujam vaikui, pamiršta prieš tai buvusį. Skaitant aplankė toks jausmas, kad Mari bijojo savo paties kraujo ryšio, vieninteliam kam nepavydėjo-tai savo sūnui. Aš kartais ir suprantu, ir keikiu tokias savimylas moteris. Tu negali pavydėti savo vaikui nieko, bet Mari to nesuprato. Ji buvo tarsi grožio etalonas, kurio negalėjo niekas užgožti, net jos dukterys. Kaip susiklosto tolimesnis jos dukterų gyvenimas, kas skaitysite, paliksiu išsiaiškinti patiems. Tai kitokia istorija nei įprastos-su skausmo, minėto pavydo, nusivylimo prieskoniu, kur moters pasaulis sudėliotas iš tokių stereotipų kaip grožis, pinigai, profesija ir sėkmė. Visgi perskaičius tokius kūrinius kaip šis, supranti, kad jei gyveni, jei ištveri tiek išbandymų, jei stengiesi ir toliau kvėpuoti, jei susitaikai su tiek lėkštų dalykų, - ištveri tam, kad pažintum meilę. Nesvarbu kokią, bet ištveri, nes tavo širdis vienaip ar kitaip privalo plakti.
April 11, 2019
«Diane dejó de ser una niña en aquel mismo instante. Sin embargo, no se convirtió ni en una adulta ni en una adolescente: tenía cinco años. Se transformó en una criatura desencantada cuya obsesión fue no hundirse en el abismo que esa situación había abierto dentro de su ser».
Amélie Nothomb es un autora que a veces me fascina y a veces me aburre soberanamente. Nunca sabes a qué atenerte cuando se publica su ración anual de narrativa. ¿Qué será esta vez? ¿Un cuento desviado, una fábula grotesca, un excéntrico episodio autobiográfico? En su retorcida y delirante recámara literaria, uno de cada seis agujeros guarda en su interior una bala. Un ejercicio arriesgado, casi suicida. Y aún así, jamás me he planteado renunciar a los juegos argumentales de Nothomb, a su efervescencia y su voluptuosidad, porque no existe, en mi opinión, contendiente que le dispute el reinado de ese género propio en el que se mueve.
Golpéate el corazón, su último trabajo traducido al castellano, es una portentosa exhibición de rivalidad femenina en el que se perciben los rasgos más característicos de Amélie Nothomb con una inusual alternancia de contención e incontinencia. La historia comienza con la caída en desgracia de Marie, una joven vanidosa y superflua que disfruta a un nivel casi sexual de su capacidad para atraer miradas y despertar envidias. Marie se recochinea de su atractivo, se emborracha de su propio poder de seducción mientras el resto de chicas de su edad se esclavizan a una vida conyugal inerte y aburrida, marcada por una clamorosa falta de ambición. Sin embargo, Marie, incapaz de gobernar las reglas del juego amoroso, quedará embarazada de un chico llamado Olivier, dando así al traste con sus esperanzas de llevar una vida emocionante y díscola.
Diane, por su parte, crecerá bajo la desgraciada sombra que proyectan las frustraciones de su madre, esa diosa indiferente «capaz de tocarla sin que existiera un contacto real, de mirarla sin verla». Con una elocuencia insólita, Diane expone la sanguinolencia de sus heridas emocionales al sufrir el constante rechazo de Marie, sumida en una depresión profunda tras el parto. La situación se agrava hasta el punto de tener que abandonar el hogar familiar para mudarse a casa de sus abuelos, que se encargarán de criarla con todo el cariño que su madre le niega. No obstante, cuando Marie se vuelve a quedar embarazada, primero de Nicolas y después de Célia, Diane descubre que, al contrario que ella, sus hermanos gozan de una oleada de devoción maternal que abrirá en su interior un abismo de desolación.
Inspirada por un verso de Alfred de Musset, y quizás, de igual modo, por las violentas pasiones que bombean el corazón, Diane decide estudiar cardiología y se convierte en la inseparable pupila de Olivia, una apasionante profesora con la que establecerá un vínculo tan estrecho como peligroso. Junto a Olivia, Diane conocerá la gloria y el reconocimiento, pero también, parece indicarnos Nothomb, la perfidia latente en todas las relaciones humanas.
En esta novela pequeña pero vigorosa, Nothomb atenta contra los ingenuos preceptos que presuponen la maternidad como una fuente de amor incondicional y nos presenta a un deslumbrante elenco de personajes femeninos que se dedican a derrumbar mitos fuertemente atrincherados. Lejos de instalarse en el rencor y la pesadumbre, el personaje de Diane se caracteriza por la voluntad inquebrantable de no repetir los errores de los que ha sido víctima. A pesar de su tono trágico y de su final «shakespeariano», Golpéate el corazón posee una arrobadora fe en la capacidad del ser humano de sobreponerse al trauma. En la línea de la mejor Nothomb, aunque sin llegar a las cimas de su narrativa, Golpéate el corazón se desliza entre la puerilidad y la grandilocuencia hacia un territorio del que brota una sorprendente madurez.
Amélie Nothomb es un autora que a veces me fascina y a veces me aburre soberanamente. Nunca sabes a qué atenerte cuando se publica su ración anual de narrativa. ¿Qué será esta vez? ¿Un cuento desviado, una fábula grotesca, un excéntrico episodio autobiográfico? En su retorcida y delirante recámara literaria, uno de cada seis agujeros guarda en su interior una bala. Un ejercicio arriesgado, casi suicida. Y aún así, jamás me he planteado renunciar a los juegos argumentales de Nothomb, a su efervescencia y su voluptuosidad, porque no existe, en mi opinión, contendiente que le dispute el reinado de ese género propio en el que se mueve.
Golpéate el corazón, su último trabajo traducido al castellano, es una portentosa exhibición de rivalidad femenina en el que se perciben los rasgos más característicos de Amélie Nothomb con una inusual alternancia de contención e incontinencia. La historia comienza con la caída en desgracia de Marie, una joven vanidosa y superflua que disfruta a un nivel casi sexual de su capacidad para atraer miradas y despertar envidias. Marie se recochinea de su atractivo, se emborracha de su propio poder de seducción mientras el resto de chicas de su edad se esclavizan a una vida conyugal inerte y aburrida, marcada por una clamorosa falta de ambición. Sin embargo, Marie, incapaz de gobernar las reglas del juego amoroso, quedará embarazada de un chico llamado Olivier, dando así al traste con sus esperanzas de llevar una vida emocionante y díscola.
Diane, por su parte, crecerá bajo la desgraciada sombra que proyectan las frustraciones de su madre, esa diosa indiferente «capaz de tocarla sin que existiera un contacto real, de mirarla sin verla». Con una elocuencia insólita, Diane expone la sanguinolencia de sus heridas emocionales al sufrir el constante rechazo de Marie, sumida en una depresión profunda tras el parto. La situación se agrava hasta el punto de tener que abandonar el hogar familiar para mudarse a casa de sus abuelos, que se encargarán de criarla con todo el cariño que su madre le niega. No obstante, cuando Marie se vuelve a quedar embarazada, primero de Nicolas y después de Célia, Diane descubre que, al contrario que ella, sus hermanos gozan de una oleada de devoción maternal que abrirá en su interior un abismo de desolación.
Inspirada por un verso de Alfred de Musset, y quizás, de igual modo, por las violentas pasiones que bombean el corazón, Diane decide estudiar cardiología y se convierte en la inseparable pupila de Olivia, una apasionante profesora con la que establecerá un vínculo tan estrecho como peligroso. Junto a Olivia, Diane conocerá la gloria y el reconocimiento, pero también, parece indicarnos Nothomb, la perfidia latente en todas las relaciones humanas.
En esta novela pequeña pero vigorosa, Nothomb atenta contra los ingenuos preceptos que presuponen la maternidad como una fuente de amor incondicional y nos presenta a un deslumbrante elenco de personajes femeninos que se dedican a derrumbar mitos fuertemente atrincherados. Lejos de instalarse en el rencor y la pesadumbre, el personaje de Diane se caracteriza por la voluntad inquebrantable de no repetir los errores de los que ha sido víctima. A pesar de su tono trágico y de su final «shakespeariano», Golpéate el corazón posee una arrobadora fe en la capacidad del ser humano de sobreponerse al trauma. En la línea de la mejor Nothomb, aunque sin llegar a las cimas de su narrativa, Golpéate el corazón se desliza entre la puerilidad y la grandilocuencia hacia un territorio del que brota una sorprendente madurez.
August 14, 2018
“Colpisci il tuo cuore, è là che il genio risiede” (Alfred de Musset)
Il tema dell’invidia-gelosia viene declinato al femminile dall’eclettica Amélie in questa favola nera che mette in scena innanzitutto la relazione fondamentale con la madre: relazione che produce e spesso riproduce tutte le successive: quelle, ipoteticamente libere, della vita adulta.
Che cosa succede se la relazione primaria è malata, radicalmente disfunzionale? Se la madre è preda, spesso inconsapevole, di pulsioni negative come la gelosia e l’invidia? Se, insomma, il narcisismo primario non è mai stato superato?
Ammesso che, come accade alla bella e intelligente Diane, si possano osservare questi perversi meccanismi dall’esterno diventandone consapevoli, sono sempre e soltanto due le possibilità: odiare o amare, accogliere o respingere.
È evidente che un personaggio come Diane, capace di acuta introspezione fin da piccola, è una figura esemplare e simbolica, ovvero ben poco realistica. Ma nell’economia dei personaggi che ruotano intorno a lei e ne determinano le scelte, rappresenta sentimenti veri; situazioni concrete e universali.
Ancora una volta la Nothomb colpisce al cuore con un messaggio preciso e nello stesso tempo con molte finestre aperte sul tema dell’amore materno, delle scelte esistenziali, dei modi in cui si può soccombere o sopravvivere alla propria infanzia e adolescenza.
Il tema dell’invidia-gelosia viene declinato al femminile dall’eclettica Amélie in questa favola nera che mette in scena innanzitutto la relazione fondamentale con la madre: relazione che produce e spesso riproduce tutte le successive: quelle, ipoteticamente libere, della vita adulta.
Che cosa succede se la relazione primaria è malata, radicalmente disfunzionale? Se la madre è preda, spesso inconsapevole, di pulsioni negative come la gelosia e l’invidia? Se, insomma, il narcisismo primario non è mai stato superato?
Ammesso che, come accade alla bella e intelligente Diane, si possano osservare questi perversi meccanismi dall’esterno diventandone consapevoli, sono sempre e soltanto due le possibilità: odiare o amare, accogliere o respingere.
È evidente che un personaggio come Diane, capace di acuta introspezione fin da piccola, è una figura esemplare e simbolica, ovvero ben poco realistica. Ma nell’economia dei personaggi che ruotano intorno a lei e ne determinano le scelte, rappresenta sentimenti veri; situazioni concrete e universali.
Ancora una volta la Nothomb colpisce al cuore con un messaggio preciso e nello stesso tempo con molte finestre aperte sul tema dell’amore materno, delle scelte esistenziali, dei modi in cui si può soccombere o sopravvivere alla propria infanzia e adolescenza.
April 10, 2018
Writing a review for one of Amélie Nothomb's books is always difficult. First, because I read them in French and I'm writing in English. Then, because she is my favourite author of all time, so it is not easy for me to write something constructive. Finally, because all her books rather follow the same patterns, so if you like one, you would surely like the others.
Anyway, this one is about a young and beautiful woman who always gets everything she wants because of her looks. She then got pregnant and have a beautiful daughter. That is when things get complicates because she will be jealous of her daughter. You can imagine the kind of difficulties it will bring into their mother-daughter relationships.
The story is based on Diane, the daughter, and how she is coping with her life after her troubled youth. I think it was a really interesting topic and one I'm not familiar with at all. It was sometimes a bit brutal (like most of her books) but I think it was a fascinating topic.
I totally recommend this author if you have never read one of her books, it is worth it.
Anyway, this one is about a young and beautiful woman who always gets everything she wants because of her looks. She then got pregnant and have a beautiful daughter. That is when things get complicates because she will be jealous of her daughter. You can imagine the kind of difficulties it will bring into their mother-daughter relationships.
The story is based on Diane, the daughter, and how she is coping with her life after her troubled youth. I think it was a really interesting topic and one I'm not familiar with at all. It was sometimes a bit brutal (like most of her books) but I think it was a fascinating topic.
I totally recommend this author if you have never read one of her books, it is worth it.
September 28, 2025
این هرروز برای من اتفاق میفته.
باورم نمیشه چیزی که همیشه سعی داشتم بهش اشاره کنم رو یک نفر دیگه هم بهش فکرکرده و دقیقا همونطور که من دوست دارم به تصویر کشیدهتش.
باورم نمیشه چیزی که همیشه سعی داشتم بهش اشاره کنم رو یک نفر دیگه هم بهش فکرکرده و دقیقا همونطور که من دوست دارم به تصویر کشیدهتش.
March 26, 2019
Me gusta mucho esta autora, es original, irreverente y sobretodo diferente. Esta historia es como ella, distinta pero muy real. Tuve la fortuna de criarme en un ambiente amoroso y de relaciones muy sanas y hermosas entre todos los integrantes del núcleo familiar. De igual manera he tratado de imitar ese ambiente en mi nuevo hogar, con mis hijos y mi pareja. Pero ciertamente he conocido casos muy similares a los expuestos aquí, unos más, otros menos pero relaciones madre-hija nada amorosos, nada respetuosos y sobretodo nada sanos. Normalmente basados en el mismo sentimiento de esta historia. Los Celos y la Envidia me parecen de los sentimientos más bajos que puede tener una persona, y más aún hacía alguien a quien debes cuidar, proteger y sobretodo inspirar. Soy del pensamiento que los hijos no deben ser como los padres, deben ser mejores, tener más oportunidades, y sobretodo más felices. Pero cómo en la viña del señor hay de todo pues con cualquier cosa nos podemos encontrar, ciertamente unos superan esas circunstancias que les tocó vivir y se desarrollan como seres maravillosos e incluso se preocupan por los demás, otros quedan bajo esos yugos crecen con poca autoestima, se sienten menos que los demás, andan mendigando atención y cariño y otros toman medidas extremas crecen con resentimientos, dolor, rabia y realizan actos terribles. Me gusta la manera en que nos describe los sentimientos y ya voy reconociendo en ella un sello que la vuelve única y especial, me parece que esa habilidad la desarrolla a la perfección y logra claramente su objetivo, el de transmitir esos sentimientos al cien por cien.
En fin, me encanta Amelie, tengo muchos más pendientes de ella, pero los que he leído me han parecido geniales y pronto caerán en mis manos otros títulos que tengo en la gran lista de pendientes.
En fin, me encanta Amelie, tengo muchos más pendientes de ella, pero los que he leído me han parecido geniales y pronto caerán en mis manos otros títulos que tengo en la gran lista de pendientes.
March 30, 2022
`Boda, hijos, casa…, ¿Cómo podían conformarse con eso? ¡Qué estupidez reducir sus esperanzas a unas simples palabras, y más aún a unas palabras tan mezquinas! Marie no le ponía nombre a sus expectativas, saboreaba sus infinitas dimensiones´
Mi primera incursión con la escritora ha sido extraña. Me han gustado ciertas sutilezas que utiliza para explicar en pocas palabras ciertas situaciones. En esta novela, a través de espejos personales, se relacionan varios personajes de distintas generaciones. Los personajes son de familias acomodadas, en las cuales, los pocos sacrificios que tienen que soportar son meramente ególatras. Reconozco que por lo complicado del argumento se desarrolla con bastante maestría, pero creo que no he llegado a conectar del todo ni con el estilo, ni con el argumento. A pesar de ello, le daré otra oportunidad a alguna de sus novelas, prefiero no quedarme con la duda. Aun así, sí que se nota en algunas partes un tinte demasiado aburguesado y occidentalista de escritura, que en ciertos contextos intencionados está bien, pero no sabría decir exactamente si es intencionado, fingido, o que realmente plasma las historias en ese contexto social. Veremos si la próxima novela me cuaja mejor.
Mi primera incursión con la escritora ha sido extraña. Me han gustado ciertas sutilezas que utiliza para explicar en pocas palabras ciertas situaciones. En esta novela, a través de espejos personales, se relacionan varios personajes de distintas generaciones. Los personajes son de familias acomodadas, en las cuales, los pocos sacrificios que tienen que soportar son meramente ególatras. Reconozco que por lo complicado del argumento se desarrolla con bastante maestría, pero creo que no he llegado a conectar del todo ni con el estilo, ni con el argumento. A pesar de ello, le daré otra oportunidad a alguna de sus novelas, prefiero no quedarme con la duda. Aun así, sí que se nota en algunas partes un tinte demasiado aburguesado y occidentalista de escritura, que en ciertos contextos intencionados está bien, pero no sabría decir exactamente si es intencionado, fingido, o que realmente plasma las historias en ese contexto social. Veremos si la próxima novela me cuaja mejor.
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