Boy

by Christine de Rivoyre

Summer of 1937 in the South of France. Three generations of aristocrats from Bordeaux spend the holidays by the sea. Then comes Boy. He is back from the USA. Everyone is overwhelmed, particularly his 12-year-old niece, Hildegarde, and the maid who used to be his lover, Suzon. But fate is never too generous with spoiled children. This idyllic summer is about to become much more dramatic.

Genres: France

285 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Christine Berthe Claude Denis de Rivoyre (née le 29 novembre 1921 à Tarbes et décédée le 3 janvier 2019 dans le 15e arrondissement de Paris) était une journaliste, écrivaine et scénariste française.

Prix Interallié pour Le Petit Matin (1968), Prix Pierre-de-Régnier (1979), Prix Prince-Pierre-de-Monaco et Grand Prix Paul-Morand de littérature pour l'ensemble de son œuvre, elle a été membre du jury de le prix Médicis de 1971.
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Christine Berthe Claude Denis de Rivoyre was a French journalist and writer. She was born in Tarbes, France. She was educated in Catholic schools and then received a degree in literature from the Sorbonne. She continued her studies at the University of Syracuse before beginning as a journalist for Le Monde and then becoming literary editor for Marie Claire.

Her first novel L'Alouette au miroir, published in 1955, received the Prix des Quatre Jurys. Several of her novels have been made into films:

La Mandarine (1957); 1971 film
Les Sultans (1964); 1968 film
Le Petit matin (1968); 1971 film - novel received the Prix Interallié

De Rivoyre received the Prix Prince Pierre de Monaco in 1979 and the Grand Prix de Littérature Paul Morand in 1984 from the Académie française for her work. She was named an Officier in the French Legion of Honour.

Reviews

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les deux narratrices, Hildegarde (à douze ans et demi, elle appartient à la dernière génération d'une aristocratie française dont l'univers est sur le point d'être bouleversé par la Seconde Guerre mondiale) et Suzon (âgée de vingt-cinq ans, elle est employée comme domestique par la famille maternelle d'Hildegarde), prennent tour à tour la parole pour faire le récit de l'été 1937 dans la maison familiale au bord de la mer. Oncle de l'une et amant de l'autre, Boy est irrésistible, excessif, capricieux comme le sont les enfants, possessif et manipulateur et pourtant attachant. Christine de Rivoyre réussit un roman chargé d'émotion dans lequel on passe du rire aux larmes en un rien de temps. Tout simplement inoubliable.

En revanche, j'avais complètement zappé, lors de mes précédentes lectures, qu'il y avait une scène de viol dans le livre. Ni vu ni connu, on la glisse là et on n'en parle pas.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy is a charmer who is indulged by his wealthy family and loved by the maid. The household is richly evoked by de Rivoyre, as is the time - 1937 France, with the Spanish Civil War in the background. The family struggles to adapt to changing times, but the two who loved Boy most, a young girl and the maid are the ones who, in the end, break free of his destructive hold and emerge from the traditions to their own independence. This is a jewel of a book, well worth searching out.

[Torsten Wollina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful small story about a wealthy French family vacationing in the summer of 1937 and the return of their prodigal son Boy. Being told through the eyes of Boy’s niece Hildegarde and the maid Suzon in alternating chapters, the book juxtaposes personal stakes with events in the larger world (besides the Spanish Civil War especially the contrast between the rich vacationers and their service personnel).
I should add that I have read a German translation from 1977.

[Sarra Tebib · Rating 1 out of 5]

okay so. why two stars. I would have loved the story if this had not justified emotional incest and pedophilia as well as being a "bad" boy. it was romantic if I could ignore those "details". I couldn't. Because it was justified every now and then and it ended in this way where it seems to me like it's telling me I should accept it? Very sad because I thought it was very well written, I loved the style, got attached to the characters and now.. I just don't know what to think. Had it been bad from a to z it would've been a straight 1 or a dnf, but the writing was enjoyable.
So this is the story of a guy, ppl call him "boy", he is 26 and the uncle of a 12 yo girl named Hildegarde. She is one of the two narrators, the other one being Suzon, 25 yo domestic of Boy's family. The story is set in 1937 France (the novel was written in 1973 and don't try to justify the themes). Hildegarde has a crush on Boy (first issue but of well she is a young girl and he is being nice), well but he also flirts with her?? His behaviour with his child niece is really questionable, he never abused her (or did he?) but his behaviour and his words (like repeating you're the love of my life, you're my wife blabla, taking her to a casino at night and forgetting about her in the car, her carressing his hair, him driving with her sitting on his lap and they were alone in the car, just -). Suzon is Boy's first love? at least he is hers. He comes back every year from the US and has sex with her and tells her she's his whatever but he fucks around all year? then acts jealous when she meets a nice guy (love triangle ffs). Pierre (the nice guy) ends up proposing to Suzon, and she accepts. Boy gets mad when she tells him (they are outside together at this point) and he slaps her????? and insults her ("Salope") I- then he runs after her and she's like "yeah fine I like you we're getting married just bring me back home" typa vibe, and they get in a car crash and he dies (RIP but not really). Suzon lives and doesn't marry Pierre. Hildegarde is depressed. the end.
In the end there is a chapter like two years later and another domestic basically tells us all about it and she's like well Hildegarde loved Boy it's okay it's normal they were like implicitly engaged and he treated her like a woman it made her beautiful? HUH? she was 11/12 what are you talking about lady
anyway, meh and I 'm pissed because I liked some passages at the beginning and it was funny and sweet sometimes and I liked the writing but this shit - and it's romanticized?! I can't

[Marc Olaso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Récit magistral de la fin d’une époque.

[Milirox · Rating 5 out of 5]

HILDEGARDE
SUZON
MARIA
MADAME MAX

B O Y


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

*slams the book on the floor*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[Rémy]

« ─ Je préfère me noyer.
(...) La mer ça recouvre, les mots autant que les corps, ça engloutit, quel verbe, engloutit, engloutir : sur le glou c'est comme un bruit de gorge et sur le tir tout est fini, le silence s'installe. »

[Sophie Landreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bon livre. On s'y croirait, à Hendaye 📙