Play Book Tag discussion

The End of Eddy by Édouard Louis is autobiographical novel (fiction) but it is tagged as autobiographical by the publisher.

This is a little book written as fiction but very autobiographical of the author’s life growing up poor, gay in France. It is also a coming of age and tells the awareness of his identity, the effort to overcome his identity and then the coming to peace with that identity. I read this as part of the ToB but it got beat out by Dear Cyborg before I got to the end. It is a quick read.

I would disagree with the author on one or two points but then, this is the story of his perceptions so it doesn’t matter what I think. Eddy was brutally bullied by classmates. He makes a statement early on that people think of the humiliation when they see someone being abused and not the physical pain. I think about the pain. I hate violence and the reason I hate it, is because the pain is so real to me.

The author is a child of the nineties. I was surprised by the description of his poverty and working class childhood. It reminded me so much of my own experience which was in the fifties/sixties. I thought that there would have been some advancements just in general but apparently not in France.

Your review makes this book sound pretty interesting despite your three star review (which I think of as solid, but unspectacular?). Interesting statement about humiliation vs. pain - - I had not considered that, but when I think of it, I actually think of the social isolation the most. And true to what the author said, the pain doesn't strike me as much . . .but I think as a young woman, most of the bullying behaviors I saw were not physical, so I guess his experience may have been vastly more painful.

Anita wrote: "Your review makes this book sound pretty interesting despite your three star review (which I think of as solid, but unspectacular?). Interesting statement about humiliation vs. pain - - I had not c..."

I think the bullying he received was extremely violent as well as humiliating.