Un homme pareil aux autres

by René Maran

« Je sais que la plupart de mes chefs n’ont jamais voulu voir
en moi qu’un nègre, qu’un ‘‘sale nègre’’ qu’il fallait tenir à
l’écart, briser, humilier ; qu’un ‘‘sale nègre’’ indigne du moindre
avancement et, malgré sa tenue, ou peut-être à cause d’elle, de
toute considération.»
Au lendemain de la Première Guerre mondiale, un jeune homme embarque sur un
paquebot pour Dakar. Il laisse à Bordeaux la femme qu’il aime et dont il est aimé.
Alors pourquoi tient-il à la fuir?
Parce qu’elle est blanche et que Jean est noir. La haine déclenchée par sa couleur
de peau, il y répond en s’autodétruisant. Blessé par le rejet dont il souffre et par
la fascination idiote que sa différence exerce, Jean s’apprête à gâcher sa vie. Pour
aimer, il faudrait qu’il s’aime un peu. Mais parviendra-t-il à se délivrer du complexe
qui l’étouffe?

225 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

René Maran, né à Fort-de-France (Martinique), le 5 novembre 1887, mort à Paris 13e le 9 mai 1960, est un écrivain français, lauréat du prix Goncourt en 1921 pour son roman Batouala, dont la préface dénonce le colonialisme.

Reviews

[Manika]

Je me suis délectée, j'ai suivi avec délice les pérégrinations de Jean Veneuse notre narrateur tourmenté, écartelé par sa position sociale, un amour impossible ainsi que la souffrance de toujours se savoir jamais tout à fait à sa place.
Un livre magistral que j'ai adoré lire, voulant aller plus vite cependant craignant qu'il ne se termine trop tôt. Publié pour la première fois en 1947 mais vite tombé dans l'oubli, je suis ravie qu'il soit réédité pour cette rentrée littéraire 2021.
Dévorez-le, dégustez-le mais lisez-le son écriture en enchantera plus d'un!

[Pascale]

This novel follows Jean Veneuse, a black colonial administrator on his way to Africa for a new posting, and back again a few years later. The first part is set mostly onboard the ship which takes Veneuse from Bordeaux to Brazzaville. By chance, one of Venus's old school friends and his wife are among the passengers, as well as a woman called Clarisse Demours, on her way to join her husband in the colonies. Almost immediately, Veneuse confides in them that he is madly in love with a white woman, Andrée Marielle, to whom he has not proposed because he is convinced that her life with a black colonial official would be miserable. Determined to forget her, Veneuse starts a desultory affair with Clarisse, whose husband mean very little to her, and who falls deeply in love with him. In fact, when they disembark in Brazzaville, the Governor summons Veneuse to tell him that Clarisse's husband has died, and that the French authorities will repatriate her. When Veneuse breaks the news to her, Clarisse is overjoyed and begs Veneuse to keep her with him, but he turns her down. In her fury, Clarisse abuses him in racist terms.
The second part covers Veneuse's years of service in Tchad. Letters go back and forth at intervals of several months between him and Andrée, but gradually his determination not to marry her gets eroded by her obvious love for him. Veneuse hates Africa, its monotonous climate and lack of cultural opportunities. An avid reader, his happiest hours are spent communing with the crate of books he brought with him. Still, like onboard the ship, he takes a mistress to satisfy his sexual needs, the teenage Adidja. Eventually, Veneuse decides to go back to Paris, and leaves Adidja behind with as much regret as his dog Piter. Only during the long journey back to France does he starts to appreciate the territory and the people he served with a fastidious though detached zeal. Until the very last minute, he prepares himself to get rebuffed by Andrée, and toys with the idea of marrying Clarisse, who has apologized and would certainly have him back. But all is well that ends well, and the lovers are reunited.
I liked the candor with which Maran describes Veneuse's conflicting feelings, including his feelings of superiority towards less educated black people. Veneuse who, like the author himself, grew up mostly in France, feels trapped in his black skin and even the wholehearted acceptance of people like Coulonges and his wife is not enough to change his mind. His fear of rejection goes hand in hand with a form of snootiness. It's hard not to empathize with a character whose strengths and flaws are so well delineated, but of course from our point of view today his treatment of Clarisse and Adidja rankles.

[Elias]

Thanks