Les bourgeoises

by Astrid Éliard

Mères de famille comparant les mérites de leurs nounous respectives ; parents ouverts à la mixité sociale mais ayant fait le choix de l'enseignement catholique pour leur progéniture ; jeune épouse ne sachant pas comment parler à sa femme de ménage ; trentenaire dévouée à la carrière de son mari redoutant le désoeuvrement...Les personnages de femmes peuplant le recueil d'Astrid Eliard ont en commun d'appartenir à une même classe sociale, la bourgeoisie. Néo-bobos d'aujourd'hui, de vieille tradition française, ou parvenues récentes, tour à tour ridicules ou attachantes.Renouant avec le ton doux-amer de son premier recueil de nouvelles, Nuits de noces, Astrid Éliard croque ses personnages avec une tendre ironie, souligne leurs tics sans jamais les juger et propose une galerie de portraits hauts en couleurs.

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2021

Reviews

[ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

didactic in nature but engaging and enjoyably written 😸

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les bourgeoises is a collection of eight short stories designed to show the hypocrisy of bourgeois life. Any criticism of morals or behaviour is never specified in as many words. It is found in between the lines of these stories. Astrid Éliard scrolls through a gallery of characters of mainly neo-bobo women.

In the first tale, the narrator and her boyfriend Tewfik have recently left Paris for Clermont Ferrand, when he is offered a promotion, a post in Dubai. Already they felt guilty about employing a femme de menage. There’s petty racism against Tewfik where he works but he takes it in good grace, and sees it more as ignorance than intimidation. The couple were each children of manual workers coming to terms with a more bourgeois lifestyle. When a work colleague invites them to dine, she realises they are become “like them” - bourgeois.

What is the main preoccupation of the young neo-bobos? Nannys. In rejecting Africans, they are not, course being racist - it’s simply cultural!

In La Sainte Famille, Maéva (who insists on being called Éva), a young neo-bourgeois mother in search of the "best" for her son, has a passion for a private Catholic nursery school, even though neither he nor her husband are religious.

In Greve general - A woman is driving through the centre of Paris for a job interview when she comes across a massive demo.  In her frustration at not being able to arrive on time, she runs across old flame Guillaume. While she is dressed up as a smart Parisien woman, she remembers the time when they went on demonstrations together.

It was one of those books I felt I should have enjoyed more than I did. It had some humour, it was attacking bourgeois morality and featured characters, often annoying, with whom I was familiar. My problem with the book is that I couldn’t really see where it was going. I was interested in the quote at the start about King Kong theory, and I enjoyed reading the chapter on selecting a school and pretending to be catholic, laughing out loud at several parts. Mocking women trying to conform to the contemporary bourgeoisie codes may well be fine when choosing what to write, but where does that writing actually take us? Nevertheless, I would be interested in reading more from Astrid Eliard.

The author gives us her vivid picture of what she understands as the bourgeois in the context of the 21st century. We see people who are the victims of their own morality, the hypocrisy of middle class lifestyles and, we often we see ourselves. Le Canard enchaîné wrote of the book, Bourdieu would have adored it”. Me? I’m not sure.

French version of this review: les liaisons literaires

[Marie-Hélène · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avec ce cours recueil, Astrid Éliard a esquissé 8 tableaux de femmes Bobos, élitistes, racistes, enfermées dans leur quant-à-soi... Même si certains portraits sont plus aboutis que d'autres, cela n'en demeure pas moins assez fin, ironique, grinçant.
Ce que j'ai apprécié, mis à part l'écriture très agréable et amusante, c'est que j'avais l'impression d'avoir croisés presque toutes ces femmes.
Ces neo-bourgeois représentent vraiment un sujet d'étude intéressant. Dommage, que ces nouvelles soient inégales et que le trait soit parfois, un peu trop épais.

[Alienor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Très bien écrit. M'a fait penser aux nouvelles de Maupassant.

Et m'a aussi rappelé, avec vigueur, pourquoi j'ai quitté la France il y a 12 ans et n'y ai jamais remis les pieds.

Je voudrais pointer que l'auteure, en disséquant avec une vacheté légère et néanmoins amère les défauts de ses concitoyennes, se place exactement sur le même plan.

Cette haine des classes, suant le ressentiment et l'envi, certes la plume est jolie mais c'est écœurant.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

First few stories were really gripping but I found it less engaging as I went through - the characters seemed less vivid, it became a bit repetitive.

[Marion Mulmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fuuunnnnnn j’ai adoré, ça m’a même fait rater mon arrêt de tram. Les nouvelles c’est un format souvent bâtard et touchy je #trouve mais là c’était très bien maîtrisé délicieux miam miam miam, je vais check si elle a écrit d’autres trucs.

[Jonathan Pinel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bon bah bof.