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Que font les rennes après Noël ?
To Leave with the Reindeer is the account of a woman who has been trained for a life she cannot live. She readies herself for freedom, and questions its limits, by exploring how humans relate to animals. Rosenthal weaves an intricate pattern, combining the central narrative with many other voices – vets, farmers, breeders, trainers, a butcher – to produce a polyphonic composition full of fascinating and disconcerting insights.
Wise, precise, generous, To Leave with the Reindeer takes a clear-eyed look at the dilemmas of domestication, both human and animal, and the price we might pay to break free.
Wise, precise, generous, To Leave with the Reindeer takes a clear-eyed look at the dilemmas of domestication, both human and animal, and the price we might pay to break free.
213 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2010
7 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Rosenthal
35 books5 followersOlivia Rosenthal, née à Paris en 1965, est actuellement maître de conférences à l’Université de Paris-8 (Saint-Denis). Elle y enseigne la littérature française du XVIe siècle et travaille plus particulièrement sur l’articulation entre écrit et oral dans la poésie, sur la lecture à haute voix et sur le statut de l’œuvre et de l’auteur à la Renaissance. Dans ce cadre, elle a écrit un essai : Donner à voir : écritures de l’image dans l’art de poésie au XVIe siècle, publié aux éditions Champion en 1998.
Par ailleurs, Olivia Rosenthal écrit des textes de fiction. Son premier roman, Dans le temps, est paru aux éditions Verticales en 1999. Depuis, elle a publié, toujours chez Verticales, trois récits, Mes petites communautés en 1999, Puisque nous sommes vivants en 2000, et L’Homme de mes rêves ou les mille travaux de Barnabé le sage devenu Barnabé le bègue suite à une terrible mésaventure qui le priva quelques heures durant de la parole.
Elle a également composé deux fictions radiophoniques (Un épisode sanglant de mon histoire 1 et 2) qui ont été diffusées sur France Culture en novembre 2000.
Par ailleurs, Olivia Rosenthal écrit des textes de fiction. Son premier roman, Dans le temps, est paru aux éditions Verticales en 1999. Depuis, elle a publié, toujours chez Verticales, trois récits, Mes petites communautés en 1999, Puisque nous sommes vivants en 2000, et L’Homme de mes rêves ou les mille travaux de Barnabé le sage devenu Barnabé le bègue suite à une terrible mésaventure qui le priva quelques heures durant de la parole.
Elle a également composé deux fictions radiophoniques (Un épisode sanglant de mon histoire 1 et 2) qui ont été diffusées sur France Culture en novembre 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 10, 2019
I loved the book sentence by sentence, and thought by thought. The narrator has interesting things to say and I enjoyed her company and her description of her life journey. I put the novel in the zone of a charming and pleasurable read, and not more, because the story never soared...it just stayed at the same steady level of insightful. It might be that the very brief scenes that jumped about in time obscured the greater meanings for me. The structure definitely interrupts forward momentum.
April 2, 2019
Olivia Rosenthal is interesting. She's a kind of gently experimental docufiction novelist in a manner that I associate more with film than specifically writing, interleaving extensive research with fictional recreation and thematic intercuts optimized for impact and association. She has a kind of simple journalistic style that is extremely readable, but also fails to make the most of her material or formal ingenuity -- this may be why I consider her "gently" experimental, and why she's not been picked up by the experimental lit world, seemingly. The last of her works to reach translation was We're Not Here to Disappear, a kind of true crime novel about Alzheimer's, but this one, about society, socialization, captivity, domestication, and all of the tricky elements of how we organize ourselves and the natural world around us, is better, more sleek and refined, more thoughtful beneath its devices. Formally, it's very simple but unique: paragraphs of a linear second-person life-narrative alternate and are modified by four first-person discussions, probably based on specific interviews or composites thereof, of careers managing animals in the human arena. Hoping that more of Rosenthal's novels follow this one into translation.
December 13, 2020
Having just reread it, I still can't quite write a fitting review. But the rating went up to 4.5*.
April 21, 2019
And Other Stories is a small UK publisher which “publishes some of the best in contemporary writing, including many translations” and aims “to push people’s reading limits and help them discover authors of adventurous and inspiring writing”. They are set up as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and operate on a subscriber model – with subscribers (of which they now have around 1000 in 40 countries) committing in advance to enable the publication of future books. This was one of the first books to which I subscribed – and it is always pleasing to feel one has contributed, in a very small way, to facilitating a work of art.
Famously and admirably, And Other Stories were the only publisher to respond to Kamilia Shamsie (subsequent winner of the 2018 Women’s Prize)’s 2016 challenge to only publish books by women in 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
This was the first of my subcription books published in 2019 and is a translation of “Que font les renes apres Noel”, the 2011 winner of the Prix du Livre Inter.
The translator is Sophie Lewis who, as a judge for the 2018 Republic of Consciousness Prize, I was delighted to shortlist for her translation of “Blue Self-Portrait”.
The book has a distinctive style but one which is easy to follow.
Effectively there are two aspects to the book – which are interwoven paragraph by paragraph, through its four sections – both of those told themselves in an unusual style.
On the first page we are introduced to hyrbid species “Tigon, leopon .. jagulep, lipard …don’t exist in the natural world and belong to no recorded species” – and similarly this hybrid book belongs to no conventional form of literature.
The first aspect is a second person narrative – following a female through childhood, into teenage years, student years and adulthood/marriage. The woman’s relations with her parents, particularly her mother, are ever present, either directly or via their repercussions on her life and attitudes. Her relationship with animals is also key – as a child she has an unfulfilled (other than briefly via a caged bird) longing for a pet and, frustrated with her parents and intrigued by what happens to Father Christmas’s helpers post their delivery duties, decides to escape with the reindeer. Later she sees pets more as a trap to her freedom.
Films also feature throughout her story – she is told early on (and falsely) that her mother watched “Rosemary’s Baby” during her pregnancy which clouded her feelings for her unborn daughter; her identification with the gorilla in King Kong tells not only of her complex relationships with animals but also her exploration of her sexuality; as she approaches adulthood, “Cat People” speaks strongly to her of her ambivalences over fitting into to conventional society.
The second, interleaved aspect is four interview/documentary style first party accounts by people working with animals, with a different (interview) subject in each section (albeit confusingly the subject of the second section appears briefly in the first). We have: someone involved with a rather odd rewilding experiment – introducing wolves to castle moats in cities; a handler of zoo-animals; a scientist working on animal experimentation; a meat-farmer who keeps and slaughters animals.
The links between the two sets of narratives are extensive (in many cases each paragraph of interview is immediately followed by some form of analogy in the narrator’s account, in others a theme – for example imprinting – is continued for a number of pages, with extensive use of repetition.
At times these links are to (or even beyond) the point of being forced at times, but the overall effect works well and overall I think this book functions as an unusual and unique simultaneous examination of human society – both human-animal relationships and kinship relationships.
Famously and admirably, And Other Stories were the only publisher to respond to Kamilia Shamsie (subsequent winner of the 2018 Women’s Prize)’s 2016 challenge to only publish books by women in 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
This was the first of my subcription books published in 2019 and is a translation of “Que font les renes apres Noel”, the 2011 winner of the Prix du Livre Inter.
The translator is Sophie Lewis who, as a judge for the 2018 Republic of Consciousness Prize, I was delighted to shortlist for her translation of “Blue Self-Portrait”.
The book has a distinctive style but one which is easy to follow.
Effectively there are two aspects to the book – which are interwoven paragraph by paragraph, through its four sections – both of those told themselves in an unusual style.
On the first page we are introduced to hyrbid species “Tigon, leopon .. jagulep, lipard …don’t exist in the natural world and belong to no recorded species” – and similarly this hybrid book belongs to no conventional form of literature.
The first aspect is a second person narrative – following a female through childhood, into teenage years, student years and adulthood/marriage. The woman’s relations with her parents, particularly her mother, are ever present, either directly or via their repercussions on her life and attitudes. Her relationship with animals is also key – as a child she has an unfulfilled (other than briefly via a caged bird) longing for a pet and, frustrated with her parents and intrigued by what happens to Father Christmas’s helpers post their delivery duties, decides to escape with the reindeer. Later she sees pets more as a trap to her freedom.
Films also feature throughout her story – she is told early on (and falsely) that her mother watched “Rosemary’s Baby” during her pregnancy which clouded her feelings for her unborn daughter; her identification with the gorilla in King Kong tells not only of her complex relationships with animals but also her exploration of her sexuality; as she approaches adulthood, “Cat People” speaks strongly to her of her ambivalences over fitting into to conventional society.
The second, interleaved aspect is four interview/documentary style first party accounts by people working with animals, with a different (interview) subject in each section (albeit confusingly the subject of the second section appears briefly in the first). We have: someone involved with a rather odd rewilding experiment – introducing wolves to castle moats in cities; a handler of zoo-animals; a scientist working on animal experimentation; a meat-farmer who keeps and slaughters animals.
The links between the two sets of narratives are extensive (in many cases each paragraph of interview is immediately followed by some form of analogy in the narrator’s account, in others a theme – for example imprinting – is continued for a number of pages, with extensive use of repetition.
At times these links are to (or even beyond) the point of being forced at times, but the overall effect works well and overall I think this book functions as an unusual and unique simultaneous examination of human society – both human-animal relationships and kinship relationships.
February 19, 2019
There is a central narrative to this book in which we follow the life of a woman from childhood (her emotional issues, her desire for a pet) to her teenage years (her first lover) to her student years (questioning her sexuality) and into adulthood (married life and a lesbian affair).
But this central narrative is interspersed, paragraph by paragraph, with other narratives. It produces a rather disconcerting effect a bit like watching a tennis match as your attention flicks rapidly from one narrative to another and back again and then back again and then…
We have rewilding of wolves into a city (the childhood years), the keeping of zoo animals (the teenage years), animal research centres (student life) and the keeping and slaughter of farm animals (adult life).
All the way through, the two themes in each part bounce off one another as parallels and contradictions rise to the surface:
“A human has a right to an identity, a bird to an identification. The legal terms mark the distinction between humans and animals”
And our central protagonist struggles to work out who she is and who she wants to be:
“You would like to be someone else but you don’t know how to go about it. As for being yourself, that’s an undertaking that feels beyond your powers.
For me, this was a novel that built as it progressed. I found the opening sections a bit forced as though the author had a clever idea about a structure for a book and struggled to make the bits fit together naturally. But, as the book progressed, I either got used to the style or the book settled down into that style. Or maybe a bit of both. In the end, after a start that made me think this would be more style than substance, I found myself sympathising with the protagonist as she struggled to come to terms with herself and her relationships.
I imagine the very rapid and constant switching between two narratives paragraph by paragraph might put some people off, but if you can adjust to the structure I think it does begin to work. It certainly keeps you on your toes as you watch for the ways the author links the two topics she is exploring in each part.
But this central narrative is interspersed, paragraph by paragraph, with other narratives. It produces a rather disconcerting effect a bit like watching a tennis match as your attention flicks rapidly from one narrative to another and back again and then back again and then…
We have rewilding of wolves into a city (the childhood years), the keeping of zoo animals (the teenage years), animal research centres (student life) and the keeping and slaughter of farm animals (adult life).
All the way through, the two themes in each part bounce off one another as parallels and contradictions rise to the surface:
“A human has a right to an identity, a bird to an identification. The legal terms mark the distinction between humans and animals”
And our central protagonist struggles to work out who she is and who she wants to be:
“You would like to be someone else but you don’t know how to go about it. As for being yourself, that’s an undertaking that feels beyond your powers.
For me, this was a novel that built as it progressed. I found the opening sections a bit forced as though the author had a clever idea about a structure for a book and struggled to make the bits fit together naturally. But, as the book progressed, I either got used to the style or the book settled down into that style. Or maybe a bit of both. In the end, after a start that made me think this would be more style than substance, I found myself sympathising with the protagonist as she struggled to come to terms with herself and her relationships.
I imagine the very rapid and constant switching between two narratives paragraph by paragraph might put some people off, but if you can adjust to the structure I think it does begin to work. It certainly keeps you on your toes as you watch for the ways the author links the two topics she is exploring in each part.
February 19, 2019
Animal trainers, zoo, vivisection & abattoir employees, butchers & farmers all written in an interview 1st person style, fragmented against a domestication of a human written in the 2nd person. Alternate paragraphs for each “storyline” - although there isn’t a storyline. Experimental as there’s no natural narrative arc, nor any named characters, however it pulls this approach off with the strange juxtaposition. The allusion between sections (eg training wolves & raising a child) works in its greyness. I liked this a lot, there were just a few sections where it didn’t quite pull it off.
I know a number of readers will hate it though.
I know a number of readers will hate it though.
May 8, 2019
Interesting idea and structure and certainly a great cover, but this book didn't really work for me.
The main character is trying to break free from her mother, but finds it hard and doesn't succeed for a long long time. She compares herself to animals in captivity, so there are descriptions of animals in zoos, circuses, research centers and farms. It could have been an interesting theme, but I didn't really get what her problem was, why she felt the way she did, so in the end it started to annoy me.
And then there's the problem she has with her sexuality. Also an interesting theme, but how does it compare to the animal issues?
Thank you Consortium for the ARC.
The main character is trying to break free from her mother, but finds it hard and doesn't succeed for a long long time. She compares herself to animals in captivity, so there are descriptions of animals in zoos, circuses, research centers and farms. It could have been an interesting theme, but I didn't really get what her problem was, why she felt the way she did, so in the end it started to annoy me.
And then there's the problem she has with her sexuality. Also an interesting theme, but how does it compare to the animal issues?
Thank you Consortium for the ARC.
November 27, 2022
J’ai pas du tout accrocher :( je reconnais la proposition, il y a un vrai concept derrière, c’est super bien écrit avec l’effet de répétition, l’écriture en « vous » mais juste j’ai pas accrocher, les 3/4 du roman c’est des infos sur les animaux dans les zoo, les laboratoires, etc et même si c’est pour mettre en parallèle avec la vie de la fille bah j’ai juste l’impression de lire un documentaire donc à la fin je sautais quasi tous les paragraphes animaliers…
February 28, 2019
It took me an embarrassingly long time to recognise the relationship between the shifting paragraphs of scene setting text and the progression of the narrator's story. Wolves, kittens, sheep, lab monkeys, slaughterhouses, they all stand in for emotions she is struggling not to experience. A compelling method of storytelling, and notable for the continued and purposeful use of second person.
February 23, 2019
“We are bored when we’ve no independence and see no means to achieve it. In captivity, the imagination dries up.”
“To become less unhappy, we become our own betrayers.”
“To become less unhappy, we become our own betrayers.”
April 19, 2020
While the writing was good, this wasn't for me. There are interesting things in this, but I found it pretty cold, and the constant discussion around animal death - in abbatoirs, animal testing facilities and other places - was too much for me.
August 2, 2013
http://lapauselibrairie.wordpress.com...
Je m’attendais à un conte pour enfant et ben pas du tout, ce n’est vraiment pas du tout aussi joyeux que ça. C’est complexe et psychologique.
Déjà vous n’allez rien comprendre au début. Vous allez vous demander de quoi ça parle, et surtout qui parle ??? Il faut sacrément s’accrocher jusqu’à la moitié environ (du moins ça c’était pour moi). Le livre n’est pas long mais ce n’est pas une véritable partie de plaisir que de le lire.
Le livre est construit assez bizarrement. Je n’avais jamais vu ça. Il n’y a pas de chapitre pour délimiter les différents personnages ; il faut les déduire par soi-même, donc être bien attentif dès le début du livre (et je sais que vous le pouvez !). D’autant plus que ces personnages n’ont pas de nom, donc il faut être doublement attentif (et vous le pouvez vraiment !). Et ce n’est pas tout, l’auteur jongle avec le "je" pour l’homme adulte et le "vous" pour l’ado-femme. (sur ce point j’avoue ne pas avoir fait vraiment attention au début, il y a t-il un changement au fil de la lecture ? A vous de me le dire !) Voici des petites astuces d’amis :
il y a unE enfant qui devient adulte
il y a uN adulte qui parle de son enfance
il y a différents professionnels
Cette structure emporte le lecteur, ça passe d’un personnage à un autre comme on sauterait à cloche pied. Le rythme est assez rapide même si le fait que le livre soit complexe freine la chose tout de même.
Je suis tombée amoureuse du style de l’auteure à la page 188, à la fin donc où je trouve qu’il est à son apogée avec des répétitions et des lourdeurs accrochantes : [vous regardez la télévision fixée au plafond, vous coupez le son, vous zappez, vous vous étourdissez ...] [vous vous enfermez comme si quelqu'un ... ] [vous vous barricadez comme si quelqu'un...].
Ce n’est donc pas un conte tout moelleux car c’est psychologiquement dérangé ! Le livre porte une forte emprise sur le lecteur via des ordres : [vous le restez] [vous vous imprégnez]. Ce livre démontre que la vie n’est faite que pour suivre des stéréotypes, que nous les suivons tous, nous sommes tous programmés par rapport à ce qu’attend de nous la société. Mais il met également en avant que nous pouvons aller contre et se forger notre propre personnalité, affirmer qui nous sommes et nous sortir de cette emprise. C’est à travers des répétitions que l’auteure prouve la volonté de l’individu à s’émanciper, à "trahir sa famille". J’ai même trouvé que le style présenté par l’auteure ressemblait bizarrement à une secte. Car la vie, la société gère les humains mais nous, pour nous "consoler" nous faisons la même chose envers les animaux : nous cherchons tous à dominer, maitriser, influencer quelqu’un qu’il soit humain ou animal. Certaines anecdotes sont parfois peu sympathiques à lire…
A moins que l’abandon ne soit la condition même à l’accession à l’indépendance
Sans trop vous en dire, sachez que la fin est plutôt pas mal, c’est plus humanisé qu’au début et la lecture est plus fluide (le temps d’adaptation sûrement)
On mange avec plus de plaisir et d’appétit les êtres que l’on aime
Encore des nouveaux mots : coercitif (qui contraint), expédient (qui est utile, opportun), équarrir (dépecer les bêtes mortes que l’on abat et que l’on va couper en quartier), panoptique (d’un point on peut tout voir), inoculer (introduire dans l’organisme une susbtance contenant les germes vivants d’une maladie, en vue d’immuser le sujet ou de le guérir), individuation (ce qui fait qu’un individu diffère d’un autre), nidifuge (quitte le nid rapidement), contempteur (celui qui méprise quelqu’un ou quelque chose), éthologie (science qui étudie le comportement des animaux), verrat (porc qui n’est pas châtré, employé pour la reproduction)
Une lecture innovante, originale, mais assez déroutante. Pas une lecture pour se détendre mais pour réfléchir, se poser des questions sur ce dont traitre le livre. J’ai quand même pris pas mal de temps pour le lire et j’avoue me féliciter d’être arrivée à la fin, même si je tiens à le dire que plus on avance dans la lecture, plus elle est plaisante. A tester !
Je m’attendais à un conte pour enfant et ben pas du tout, ce n’est vraiment pas du tout aussi joyeux que ça. C’est complexe et psychologique.
Déjà vous n’allez rien comprendre au début. Vous allez vous demander de quoi ça parle, et surtout qui parle ??? Il faut sacrément s’accrocher jusqu’à la moitié environ (du moins ça c’était pour moi). Le livre n’est pas long mais ce n’est pas une véritable partie de plaisir que de le lire.
Le livre est construit assez bizarrement. Je n’avais jamais vu ça. Il n’y a pas de chapitre pour délimiter les différents personnages ; il faut les déduire par soi-même, donc être bien attentif dès le début du livre (et je sais que vous le pouvez !). D’autant plus que ces personnages n’ont pas de nom, donc il faut être doublement attentif (et vous le pouvez vraiment !). Et ce n’est pas tout, l’auteur jongle avec le "je" pour l’homme adulte et le "vous" pour l’ado-femme. (sur ce point j’avoue ne pas avoir fait vraiment attention au début, il y a t-il un changement au fil de la lecture ? A vous de me le dire !) Voici des petites astuces d’amis :
il y a unE enfant qui devient adulte
il y a uN adulte qui parle de son enfance
il y a différents professionnels
Cette structure emporte le lecteur, ça passe d’un personnage à un autre comme on sauterait à cloche pied. Le rythme est assez rapide même si le fait que le livre soit complexe freine la chose tout de même.
Je suis tombée amoureuse du style de l’auteure à la page 188, à la fin donc où je trouve qu’il est à son apogée avec des répétitions et des lourdeurs accrochantes : [vous regardez la télévision fixée au plafond, vous coupez le son, vous zappez, vous vous étourdissez ...] [vous vous enfermez comme si quelqu'un ... ] [vous vous barricadez comme si quelqu'un...].
Ce n’est donc pas un conte tout moelleux car c’est psychologiquement dérangé ! Le livre porte une forte emprise sur le lecteur via des ordres : [vous le restez] [vous vous imprégnez]. Ce livre démontre que la vie n’est faite que pour suivre des stéréotypes, que nous les suivons tous, nous sommes tous programmés par rapport à ce qu’attend de nous la société. Mais il met également en avant que nous pouvons aller contre et se forger notre propre personnalité, affirmer qui nous sommes et nous sortir de cette emprise. C’est à travers des répétitions que l’auteure prouve la volonté de l’individu à s’émanciper, à "trahir sa famille". J’ai même trouvé que le style présenté par l’auteure ressemblait bizarrement à une secte. Car la vie, la société gère les humains mais nous, pour nous "consoler" nous faisons la même chose envers les animaux : nous cherchons tous à dominer, maitriser, influencer quelqu’un qu’il soit humain ou animal. Certaines anecdotes sont parfois peu sympathiques à lire…
A moins que l’abandon ne soit la condition même à l’accession à l’indépendance
Sans trop vous en dire, sachez que la fin est plutôt pas mal, c’est plus humanisé qu’au début et la lecture est plus fluide (le temps d’adaptation sûrement)
On mange avec plus de plaisir et d’appétit les êtres que l’on aime
Encore des nouveaux mots : coercitif (qui contraint), expédient (qui est utile, opportun), équarrir (dépecer les bêtes mortes que l’on abat et que l’on va couper en quartier), panoptique (d’un point on peut tout voir), inoculer (introduire dans l’organisme une susbtance contenant les germes vivants d’une maladie, en vue d’immuser le sujet ou de le guérir), individuation (ce qui fait qu’un individu diffère d’un autre), nidifuge (quitte le nid rapidement), contempteur (celui qui méprise quelqu’un ou quelque chose), éthologie (science qui étudie le comportement des animaux), verrat (porc qui n’est pas châtré, employé pour la reproduction)
Une lecture innovante, originale, mais assez déroutante. Pas une lecture pour se détendre mais pour réfléchir, se poser des questions sur ce dont traitre le livre. J’ai quand même pris pas mal de temps pour le lire et j’avoue me féliciter d’être arrivée à la fin, même si je tiens à le dire que plus on avance dans la lecture, plus elle est plaisante. A tester !
May 23, 2019
It's a nice idea and pretty clever but it's not too easy/fun to read. When you buy this book you get two for the price of one. The only problem is that you have to read the two books at the same time, alternating from one paragraph in one book to the next in the other for the whole thing.
It's clever because the two story lines do complement one another thematically - comparing pets, animal rights, husbandry, and butchery to the phases of growing up (I know it sounds like it doesn't, but give the author credit as they do it very well here) - but it means that reading the book and alternating between the two story lines can be very jarring at times. As while they are thematically similar, they are obviously not written the same - the juxtaposition is obvious.
That being said, as it is short, it is worth a read. I'm not sure I could have handled another 200 pages hopping from the story to what is effectively an instruction manual, but this length is perfect. Put in the effort and give it a read!
It's clever because the two story lines do complement one another thematically - comparing pets, animal rights, husbandry, and butchery to the phases of growing up (I know it sounds like it doesn't, but give the author credit as they do it very well here) - but it means that reading the book and alternating between the two story lines can be very jarring at times. As while they are thematically similar, they are obviously not written the same - the juxtaposition is obvious.
That being said, as it is short, it is worth a read. I'm not sure I could have handled another 200 pages hopping from the story to what is effectively an instruction manual, but this length is perfect. Put in the effort and give it a read!
June 3, 2019
"To Leave with the Reindeer" is a hard novel for me to rate after just a first read, so I am going with three stars for now.
"Reindeer" isn't going to be a book for everyone. It's not an easily accessible New York Times Bestseller type of book. Instead, it flips between two different narrators, often changing from one paragraph to the next. One of the narrators is constant throughout the book, but the second is different in section, starting off as a wolf-keeper, then becoming a zoo-keeper, a scientist who does experiments involving animals, and finally a butcher.
The two narrators tell different stories. The constant voice tells of a woman's life, starting with her childhood and ending with her adulthood, in which she has become her own self and admits her attraction to women. These sections often start out "You..." and can take a bit of time to get used to stylistically. The second narrator tells of their relationship to animals, starting off as sympathetic towards them, and getting more and more distant or violent as they go along. I feel like I need to read the book again in order to try to understand the connection between the two parts better, or, at least, what the author intended the connection to be, as sometimes the two match up thematically, and other times they seem more distant.
"Reindeer" isn't going to be a book for everyone. It's not an easily accessible New York Times Bestseller type of book. Instead, it flips between two different narrators, often changing from one paragraph to the next. One of the narrators is constant throughout the book, but the second is different in section, starting off as a wolf-keeper, then becoming a zoo-keeper, a scientist who does experiments involving animals, and finally a butcher.
The two narrators tell different stories. The constant voice tells of a woman's life, starting with her childhood and ending with her adulthood, in which she has become her own self and admits her attraction to women. These sections often start out "You..." and can take a bit of time to get used to stylistically. The second narrator tells of their relationship to animals, starting off as sympathetic towards them, and getting more and more distant or violent as they go along. I feel like I need to read the book again in order to try to understand the connection between the two parts better, or, at least, what the author intended the connection to be, as sometimes the two match up thematically, and other times they seem more distant.
April 17, 2019
I read this book today, it’s very strange concept. The paragraphs swap between a memoir told in the second person and factual piece about animal care including first person narrative from zoo keepers, farmers, animal researchers and butchers. I am not entirely sure it worked for me, some of the animal bits were interesting but a few were a bit too disturbing for my tastes. The memoir bits were well written, the whole idea is fascinating but it didn’t make for the most satisfying read for me.
September 11, 2012
« Le monde est un tissu de mots, nous sommes tout entiers protégés et maintenus en vie par les moyens à la fois coercitifs et maternels du texte. » (p.21)
April 19, 2019
Rosenthal so perfectly captures a primal desire for and connection to animals that, for some of us, replaces the maternal instinct we are supposed to have.
January 18, 2023
I discovered this book, rather quaintly, on the shelf at my local library, after noticing the & other stories symbol on the spine, and being intrigued by the cover photograph, and brevity of description on the back.
Easily some of the most compelling contemporary writing I've come across in a long time, and the book I've been waiting to read, an extended allegory on being human, our relationship with animals, how much of ourselves is trained, restrained, domesticated.
Also references 1942's Cat People, which seems to be having a resurgence, in its musing upon female desire and sexuality, and whether these can be felt and expressed without fear of metamorphosing into "other"...
Easily some of the most compelling contemporary writing I've come across in a long time, and the book I've been waiting to read, an extended allegory on being human, our relationship with animals, how much of ourselves is trained, restrained, domesticated.
Also references 1942's Cat People, which seems to be having a resurgence, in its musing upon female desire and sexuality, and whether these can be felt and expressed without fear of metamorphosing into "other"...
May 27, 2019
Livre assez atypique au style d’écriture particulier et original. J’ai eu un peu de mal à entrer dans l’histoire à cause de ça mais passé les premières pages, on s’y fait et on peut apprécier notre lecture. Ce style instaure très vite une tension à travers l’histoire qui nous pousse à lire la suite. J’ai un peu de mal à voir où l’auteur veut en venir. Autant pour la partie sur la femme et l’être humain, la fin est compréhensible, autant pour la partie animale, ça l’est moins.
October 14, 2019
As I've said before I don't much like starring review unless I'm certain. Probably I'd give this 3.8 stars. I did like it but I didn't love it, put it that way. It's a very unusual book and an interesting concept - the narration constantly flicks back and forth between the narrator and information on the domestication of animals - the theme of wild versus domestication runs as a thread through the book. There was a lot to engage me but I found the emotional content a little flat.
November 4, 2022
This is far from being a traditional novel, rather something of an experimental piece that reads like a piece of non-fiction, partly memoir, and partly informative of the life and habits of reindeer.
Rosenthal's aim is to offer a contemplation of how the tension between wildness and domesticity affects both humans and beasts. Though she only briefly achieves that, it is a piece of work that takes risks, and can be admired in that respect though only in few others.
Rosenthal's aim is to offer a contemplation of how the tension between wildness and domesticity affects both humans and beasts. Though she only briefly achieves that, it is a piece of work that takes risks, and can be admired in that respect though only in few others.
February 18, 2020
My second Sophie Lewis translation of the year! Rich, fascinating juxtaposition of wild and tame, human and animal, free and captive. A transformation happens within the protagonist and reader simultaneously. I was initially thrown off by the structure, and I’m not the biggest fan of second-person narration, but I quickly figured out a pattern and was able to tag along for the ride.
January 5, 2025
Un récit sur les animaux sauvages et domestiques et comment on peut faire le lien entre élevage animalier et apprentissage génétique humain.
On y découvre une femme qui cherche à s’émanciper aux rôles standards attribués à son sexe et la domination sexuelle hétérosexuel.
On y découvre une femme qui cherche à s’émanciper aux rôles standards attribués à son sexe et la domination sexuelle hétérosexuel.
October 20, 2025
Randomly picked this up in work because I loved the cover and title. Immediately on starting I knew I'd love it- the unconventional narrative style and beautiful writing was so compelling. It's definitely not for everyone but it's seemingly handcrafted for me.
June 22, 2021
Maybe it's the effect of the translation... curiously empty book. I suspect the depersonalization is on purpose.
August 25, 2022
J'ai trouvé interessant et amusant ce parallèle entre l'histoire des animaux et celle des humains : comment on les élève, on les protège, etc.
dnf
April 5, 2023Read the first part and decided I don’t really care. Cool cover and idea, but pretty repetitive and had no motive to propel it forward. A novel stuck in itself, perhaps it was the translation.
December 28, 2023
surprenant voire déroutant, le style en aller retour soi-animal en devient parfois jubilatoire
April 21, 2025
Le livre va crescendo, autant dans la vie de la femme que dans la souffrance des animaux. C’est intéressant et dérangeant. J’ai encore du mal à me faire un avis.
August 19, 2024
En lisant le résumé, je ne pensais pas du tout aimer. Le résumé du récit que je pensais lire m'offrait l'image d'une histoire pseudo culpabilisante sur notre consommation de viande et la condition animale… Peu pour moi, en tout cas dans cette forme du roman de l'extra-contemporain, mêlé à des questions de représentation et sensation de soi proche parfois de l'égocentrisme (selon moi).
Bref, j'ai apprécié ma lecture, plus que ce que je ne l'aurais pensé, ce roman m'a intéressé et surtout par sa forme (forme qui est apparemment maintenant caractéristique de la poétique d'Olivia Rosenthal) : fragmentation du récit en plusieurs parties, chapitres puis paragraphes avec plusieurs voix qui peuvent se lire séparément mais surtout toutes ensembles pour créer une sorte de chœur. Le mélange de voix est très appréciable, même si on le ressent moins ici dans un roman qui relate soit des animaux de manière très juridique ou scientifique VS passages d'écriture de soi.
Finalement, j'ai presque plus apprécié les passages concernant les animaux (évitez de lire la dernière partie sur les éleveurs et les bouchers avant de manger tout de même) qui m'ont beaucoup intéressé et qui m'ont beaucoup appris. J'ai aimé leurs corrélations avec les passages narrant le récit d'une femme de sa naissance à ses 44 ans (sûrement de l'écriture de soi, même si Olivia Rosenthal ne l'avoue pas franchement). Néanmoins, je n'ai aussi pas aimé le côté un peu "narcissique" de cette partie concernant "la femme", tout en affirmant le caractère plus ou moins général de sa, situation, j'ai trouvé qu'elle s'autoapitoyait sur son sort et qu'il y avait un peu de développement personnel à la "You can do it" le productivité de tomber pour retomber".
Bref, j'ai apprécié ma lecture, plus que ce que je ne l'aurais pensé, ce roman m'a intéressé et surtout par sa forme (forme qui est apparemment maintenant caractéristique de la poétique d'Olivia Rosenthal) : fragmentation du récit en plusieurs parties, chapitres puis paragraphes avec plusieurs voix qui peuvent se lire séparément mais surtout toutes ensembles pour créer une sorte de chœur. Le mélange de voix est très appréciable, même si on le ressent moins ici dans un roman qui relate soit des animaux de manière très juridique ou scientifique VS passages d'écriture de soi.
Finalement, j'ai presque plus apprécié les passages concernant les animaux (évitez de lire la dernière partie sur les éleveurs et les bouchers avant de manger tout de même) qui m'ont beaucoup intéressé et qui m'ont beaucoup appris. J'ai aimé leurs corrélations avec les passages narrant le récit d'une femme de sa naissance à ses 44 ans (sûrement de l'écriture de soi, même si Olivia Rosenthal ne l'avoue pas franchement). Néanmoins, je n'ai aussi pas aimé le côté un peu "narcissique" de cette partie concernant "la femme", tout en affirmant le caractère plus ou moins général de sa, situation, j'ai trouvé qu'elle s'autoapitoyait sur son sort et qu'il y avait un peu de développement personnel à la "You can do it" le productivité de tomber pour retomber".
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