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Playboy (Semiotext
I see all her beauty, I see the beauty of women. I see my own body, new. I tell myself there are so many things that are possible.
First published in France in 2018, Playboy is the first volume of Constance Debré’s renowned autobiographical trilogy that describes her decision, at age forty-three, to abandon her marriage, her legal career, and her bourgeois Parisian life to become a lesbian and a writer.
The novel unfolds in a series of short, sharp vignettes. The narrator’s descriptions of her first female lovers—a married woman fifteen years older than her, a model ten years her junior—are punctuated by encounters with her ex-husband, her father, and her son.
As Debré recently told Granta: “It was a bit like Saint Augustine and his conversion. In the same week, I had sex with a girl and I had the feeling that I could write. I had this incredible feeling that I could catch things, that life was there to be caught.�
Looking at the world through fresh eyes, the narrator of Playboy questions everything that once lay beneath the surface of her well-managed life. Laconic, aggressive, and radically truthful, she examines gender and marriage, selfishness and sacrifice, money and family, even the privilege inherent in her downward mobility.
Writing her way toward her own liberation, Debré chronicles the process that made her one of the most brilliant, important French writers today.
First published in France in 2018, Playboy is the first volume of Constance Debré’s renowned autobiographical trilogy that describes her decision, at age forty-three, to abandon her marriage, her legal career, and her bourgeois Parisian life to become a lesbian and a writer.
The novel unfolds in a series of short, sharp vignettes. The narrator’s descriptions of her first female lovers—a married woman fifteen years older than her, a model ten years her junior—are punctuated by encounters with her ex-husband, her father, and her son.
As Debré recently told Granta: “It was a bit like Saint Augustine and his conversion. In the same week, I had sex with a girl and I had the feeling that I could write. I had this incredible feeling that I could catch things, that life was there to be caught.�
Looking at the world through fresh eyes, the narrator of Playboy questions everything that once lay beneath the surface of her well-managed life. Laconic, aggressive, and radically truthful, she examines gender and marriage, selfishness and sacrifice, money and family, even the privilege inherent in her downward mobility.
Writing her way toward her own liberation, Debré chronicles the process that made her one of the most brilliant, important French writers today.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2018
75 people are currently reading
1842 people want to read
About the author
Constance Debré
7Ìýbooks232ÌýfollowersConstance Debré is the daughter of journalist François Debré (1942-2020) and former model Maylis Ybarnégaray (1942-1988), granddaughter of Michel Debré (1912-1996), former Prime Minister of General de Gaulle, and of Jean Ybarnégaray (1883-1956), minister of the Vichy regime and resistance fighter. She is also the niece of the statesman Jean-Louis Debré.
She was 16 when her mother died. She studied at Lycée Henri-IV, then law at Panthéon-Assas University. She is a graduate of class 99 (E99) of the ESSEC Business School. Married in 1993, she had a son in 2008. A lawyer by profession in 2010, she accompanied her father in 2011, charged in the case of fictitious jobs at the town hall of Paris. Recognized for her eloquence, she was elected second secretary of the Conference of Lawyers of the Paris Bar in 2013.
In 2015, she finally left her husband and her job to live with a woman and pursue a full-time career as a writer.
She was 16 when her mother died. She studied at Lycée Henri-IV, then law at Panthéon-Assas University. She is a graduate of class 99 (E99) of the ESSEC Business School. Married in 1993, she had a son in 2008. A lawyer by profession in 2010, she accompanied her father in 2011, charged in the case of fictitious jobs at the town hall of Paris. Recognized for her eloquence, she was elected second secretary of the Conference of Lawyers of the Paris Bar in 2013.
In 2015, she finally left her husband and her job to live with a woman and pursue a full-time career as a writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
November 17, 2020
Rarement une lecture ne m'aura autant atterrée...
Constance Debré, auto-proclamée bourgeoise désargentée, "loue un deux-pièces dans le sixième". Normal. Se sent légitime à nous faire étalage de ses histoires de cul à coups de phrases courtes, langage cru ascendant vulgaire : "Je suis bourge au cas où y aurait un doute. [...] C'est pour ça que je parle comme ça. Les aristos parlent comme ça. Ils adorent. Moi aussi j'adore". Histoire de s'encanailler un peu, donc.
Ça va Constance, le classisme, on te dérange pas ?
Constance Debré se sent également légitime à nous faire partager sa vision du genre : "C'est ça une femme, c'est une peau très douce, c'est la bêtise, c'est une âme étroite qui n'est pas à la hauteur de la douceur de la peau, ce sont des caresses bâclées, un corps qui ne peut rendre l'hommage qu'on lui rend, un animal qui ne sait rien de l'amour et du désir, qui ne sait rien non plus de la beauté, un être qui n'est jamais grand, un corps bourgeois, un peu sale, qui pleure quand il est méchant. [A]imer une femme, c'était la mépriser en même temps."
Ça va Constance, la misogynie ? Tranquille ?
Surtout, en 2018, Constance Debré se sent tout à fait légitime à écrire ceci : "Un corps de femme c'est fait pour y mettre la main, la bouche, une femme c'est fait pour être baisée. Des seins c'est fait pour être touchés, un cul s'est fait pour venir s'y caler, une chatte pour y plonger la gueule, pour en sentir l'odeur, y glisser la langue, les doigts, en sucer le goût, ce putain de goût si doux. [...] Je comprends ceux qui vont aux putes. Je comprends même les violeurs. Pour la première fois je sens comme une piqûre toute la violence du désir. Du désir pour le corps des femmes."
Ça va Constance, la légitimation du viol ? Pas de problème ?
Un ouvrage salué par la plupart des critiques à sa sortie, ce qui en dit long sur l'état du monde de la critique littéraire en France, et de la France tout court, en 2018. Comme en 2020 d'ailleurs. Y a du taf.
Constance Debré, auto-proclamée bourgeoise désargentée, "loue un deux-pièces dans le sixième". Normal. Se sent légitime à nous faire étalage de ses histoires de cul à coups de phrases courtes, langage cru ascendant vulgaire : "Je suis bourge au cas où y aurait un doute. [...] C'est pour ça que je parle comme ça. Les aristos parlent comme ça. Ils adorent. Moi aussi j'adore". Histoire de s'encanailler un peu, donc.
Ça va Constance, le classisme, on te dérange pas ?
Constance Debré se sent également légitime à nous faire partager sa vision du genre : "C'est ça une femme, c'est une peau très douce, c'est la bêtise, c'est une âme étroite qui n'est pas à la hauteur de la douceur de la peau, ce sont des caresses bâclées, un corps qui ne peut rendre l'hommage qu'on lui rend, un animal qui ne sait rien de l'amour et du désir, qui ne sait rien non plus de la beauté, un être qui n'est jamais grand, un corps bourgeois, un peu sale, qui pleure quand il est méchant. [A]imer une femme, c'était la mépriser en même temps."
Ça va Constance, la misogynie ? Tranquille ?
Surtout, en 2018, Constance Debré se sent tout à fait légitime à écrire ceci : "Un corps de femme c'est fait pour y mettre la main, la bouche, une femme c'est fait pour être baisée. Des seins c'est fait pour être touchés, un cul s'est fait pour venir s'y caler, une chatte pour y plonger la gueule, pour en sentir l'odeur, y glisser la langue, les doigts, en sucer le goût, ce putain de goût si doux. [...] Je comprends ceux qui vont aux putes. Je comprends même les violeurs. Pour la première fois je sens comme une piqûre toute la violence du désir. Du désir pour le corps des femmes."
Ça va Constance, la légitimation du viol ? Pas de problème ?
Un ouvrage salué par la plupart des critiques à sa sortie, ce qui en dit long sur l'état du monde de la critique littéraire en France, et de la France tout court, en 2018. Comme en 2020 d'ailleurs. Y a du taf.
August 2, 2024
Odd and excellent.
Was surprised at how misogynistic this was at times. However, why should the portrayal of (later-in-life) lesbian desire always be pure and sanitised? The lines are constantly being redrawn, and it would perhaps be inauthentic to claim that you would never become crossed in the preexisting thorny wires of hatred, jealously and violence when faced with a new world of desire. The writer is coming to terms with herself through her lovers, and maybe the way she views them is a projection of how she views herself. Or maybe she’s navigating “bachelorhood� in the only way she knows how; through the male lens. Maybe she is empowered by this. Maybe this is self defence. Maybe there are hard limits to her empowerment. Maybe she discovers this later, maybe she does not.
Or maybe she’s meant to be distasteful and unlikeable. Maybe she is too pathologically bored to become anything else.
Maybe it doesn’t matter when the writing is this memorable
I will think about this for a long time.
Was surprised at how misogynistic this was at times. However, why should the portrayal of (later-in-life) lesbian desire always be pure and sanitised? The lines are constantly being redrawn, and it would perhaps be inauthentic to claim that you would never become crossed in the preexisting thorny wires of hatred, jealously and violence when faced with a new world of desire. The writer is coming to terms with herself through her lovers, and maybe the way she views them is a projection of how she views herself. Or maybe she’s navigating “bachelorhood� in the only way she knows how; through the male lens. Maybe she is empowered by this. Maybe this is self defence. Maybe there are hard limits to her empowerment. Maybe she discovers this later, maybe she does not.
Or maybe she’s meant to be distasteful and unlikeable. Maybe she is too pathologically bored to become anything else.
Maybe it doesn’t matter when the writing is this memorable
I will think about this for a long time.
May 23, 2021
[1,5/5] Je voulais t’aimer, Constance. Mais quelle déception qu’est la mienne aujourd’hui ! J’aurais aimé pouvoir retrouver une ode au lesbianisme, aux relations humaines. J’y ai trouvé mépris de classe,misogynie et homophobie internalisée... et quelques remarques parfaitement inquiétantes sur les agressions sexuelles et autre. Je lirais Love me tender plus tard, le sujet étant intéressant, mais j’avoue partir avec un petit aprioris.
February 20, 2020
Il faudrait vraiment que les gens méprisants et dangereux arrêtent de se croire subversifs.
Une pincée de mépris de classe, pas mal de mysoginie, un peu de transphobie, beaucoup d'homophobie banalisée, je n'ai pas trouvé de racisme mais il faut dire que je n'ai pas vraiment cherché.
Sous couvert de vouloir un style incisif et épuré, c'est finalement vulgaire et toxique, en plus d'être au final ennuyeux à mourir.
Une pincée de mépris de classe, pas mal de mysoginie, un peu de transphobie, beaucoup d'homophobie banalisée, je n'ai pas trouvé de racisme mais il faut dire que je n'ai pas vraiment cherché.
Sous couvert de vouloir un style incisif et épuré, c'est finalement vulgaire et toxique, en plus d'être au final ennuyeux à mourir.
May 8, 2022
Échapper à sa condition de femme bourgeoise et heterosexuelle dans un mariage ennuyeux en prenant pour exemple les mecs cis et en jouant à être pauvre ? Les bourgeois ne vont jamais contre leurs propres privilèges. On ne peut pas s'étonner que l'autrice ne propose rien d'intéressant à propos du genre et des relations. Elle méprise la classe des femmes et veut se rapprocher de celle des hommes. C'est assez affligeant.
January 11, 2025
qu’est-ce qu’elle raconte ? les bourgeoises c’est trop
January 30, 2025
Tasteless, unoriginal, insufferable French autofiction by pioneering lesbian misogynist Constance Debré
December 1, 2024
Not as impactful to me as Love Me Tender, probably to be considered as Debré’s international breakthrough novel, and more faltering in tone.
Nonetheless this precursor to Love Me Tender still marks Debré as a powerful and uncompromising voice in modern French literature.
Nonetheless this precursor to Love Me Tender still marks Debré as a powerful and uncompromising voice in modern French literature.
March 23, 2024
While the second book translated by Debre from Semiotexte, chronologically this was the first one published ("Love Me Tender" was published first in english in 2022) in what is presented as a trilogy, and so seems to lay some of the groundwork for the writing in "Love Me Tender." It was impossible to not make comparisons, particularly in the writing. She seems much more optimistic at the beginning, seeming to enjoy the novelty and experiences with the women she sleeps with. She still has somewhat of a relationship with her son. I believe that because of this the bleak mood and tone that is noticeable in "Love Me Tender" hasn't yet seeped into her writing. There are moments though when you see it. Glimpses of the Constance I recognize in the other book. By the end you see it much more clearly.
Part of the apathy has to do with the women themselves. She has two significant relationships in this novel, more so than in the other (as far as I remember, she seems more engaged with these women). These fall apart by the end and the book ends with a chapter that sounds very much like a chapter from the next book.
Another thing I enjoyed is her examination of class. More precisely her contempt for it and the norms that are expected from her because of her social class. Her parents eventually succumb to their desires (she often refers to them as ex-junkies throughout the book) and while she becomes a lawyer and has a husband, she shuns this to fulfill her desires (writing and being with women). And throws away all trappings of upper class life. At one point she seems to question why she loved Proust and what it meant to her. By the next book she discusses Herve Guibert and Bataille.
Part of the apathy has to do with the women themselves. She has two significant relationships in this novel, more so than in the other (as far as I remember, she seems more engaged with these women). These fall apart by the end and the book ends with a chapter that sounds very much like a chapter from the next book.
Another thing I enjoyed is her examination of class. More precisely her contempt for it and the norms that are expected from her because of her social class. Her parents eventually succumb to their desires (she often refers to them as ex-junkies throughout the book) and while she becomes a lawyer and has a husband, she shuns this to fulfill her desires (writing and being with women). And throws away all trappings of upper class life. At one point she seems to question why she loved Proust and what it meant to her. By the next book she discusses Herve Guibert and Bataille.
February 11, 2020
‪Du cru, du brut, du cul. La crise d’ado d’une quadra à la vie aisée qui s’ennuie. Ses considérations sur le genre féminin m’ont exaspéré. Constance Debré, lesbienne misogyne : j’ai du mal. �
‪C’est acerbe, provocant, intime. Loin d’être indispensable, ceci dit.�
‪C’est acerbe, provocant, intime. Loin d’être indispensable, ceci dit.�
April 11, 2024
A masterpiece. So sexy and a little bit devastating. Slightly less so than Love Me Tender tho. I love how much everyone loves to hate her. As if you’ve never done or thought anything bad.
May 18, 2024
3.75
told in vignettes, playboy is a short novel (translated from the french) about queerness, gender, privilege, family, money, but ultimately desire, and what it means to abandon life as you know it to fully follow your desires. the writing felt a little choppy at times, but that may just be an impact of the translation. but it’s a quick read, and i’m interested in reading more by this author.
told in vignettes, playboy is a short novel (translated from the french) about queerness, gender, privilege, family, money, but ultimately desire, and what it means to abandon life as you know it to fully follow your desires. the writing felt a little choppy at times, but that may just be an impact of the translation. but it’s a quick read, and i’m interested in reading more by this author.
July 11, 2024
3.5? idk. i really loved some of this. i love how she writes, it’s so french in translation. i liked it much more than love me tender, actually. and i (sometimes) like her irreverence. at least it makes me feel free to say whatever i want about the book bc i am sure she does not give a fuck what i think lmao
..but she also annoys me in a very french way (lol). maybe just a cultural difference but i disagree with her wholehearted rejection of identity. and sometimes it’s hard to tell if she (or her character, whichever) is being ironically or genuinely misogynistic or classist or just incredibly fucking judgmental. it’s kind of tiring.
i just can’t imagine being this bored of everything. all that said though, she’s a great writer - observant, honest - with interesting things to say about relationships. so power to her, i think (?)
..but she also annoys me in a very french way (lol). maybe just a cultural difference but i disagree with her wholehearted rejection of identity. and sometimes it’s hard to tell if she (or her character, whichever) is being ironically or genuinely misogynistic or classist or just incredibly fucking judgmental. it’s kind of tiring.
i just can’t imagine being this bored of everything. all that said though, she’s a great writer - observant, honest - with interesting things to say about relationships. so power to her, i think (?)
September 10, 2023
Bien écrit ! Une quête radicale de l'identité avec un passif familial lourd à porter. Récit sincère, dénué de tout pathos, une entreprise courageuse et faisant fi des convenances !
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January 27, 2025Somewhat pretentious (even though I suspect the author thinks she’s very down to earth) and very meandering, but nice to read. Liked the descriptions of sex the most, especially from someone who isn’t in their 20s, and there are some really profound lines about being a dyke and our attraction. However, the way she talks about women at her Big Age gives aspiring fuckboy, it’s like grow up sometimes? Won’t even touch the weird comments about poor people. I think I’ll enjoy the second one more as it revolves more around divorce.
February 6, 2020
Mal écrit, cliché. Laideur et snobisme voulus et assumés, dont je n'ai absolument rien retiré, si ce n'est de l'ennui.
August 24, 2023
est la fille de François Debré et la petite fille de Michel. Pour le dire vite, elle fait partie d’une des plus illustres familles de notre république pleine à craquer de femmes et d’hommes ayant exercé les métiers les plus prestigieux. Constance s’est lancée dans le sillage de sa famille. Après de brillantes études, elle devient avocate, se marie et donne naissance à un fils. Mais cette façade s’est vite craquelée pour révéler sa vraie personnalité, aimer les filles et détester les vies bien rangées. Pour que ce changement soit bien clair aux yeux de tous, elle se rase la tête, se fait faire des tatouages et devient finalement celle qu’elle a toujours été. Ces éléments biographiques ne sont pas accessoires puisqu’ils constituent la trame narrative de ce livre et d’autres livres de l’autrice. S’il est écrit “roman� sur la couverture, ce Play boy ressemble furieusement à un fragment de biographie.
Avec des phrases courtes, percutantes comme des coups de poings â€� ou des coups de tête â€� elle est l’héritière â€� revendiqué je crois â€� de la littérature gay des années 90 dont les chefs de file étaient et . On pourrait aussi y voir une littérature punk, proche de ce que pourrait écrire , mais dans un style bien plus sec.ÌýElle défonce tout sur son passage à commencer par son père et même son grand-père, celui qui est connu pour avoir rédigé la Constitution de la Ve République.
La seule chose qu’elle ne renie pas est son nom � elle aurait plutôt tendance à l’afficher comme le symbole ultime de la transgression �, elle a d’ailleurs écrit un livre à ce sujet, .
Également publié sur mon .
Avec des phrases courtes, percutantes comme des coups de poings â€� ou des coups de tête â€� elle est l’héritière â€� revendiqué je crois â€� de la littérature gay des années 90 dont les chefs de file étaient et . On pourrait aussi y voir une littérature punk, proche de ce que pourrait écrire , mais dans un style bien plus sec.ÌýElle défonce tout sur son passage à commencer par son père et même son grand-père, celui qui est connu pour avoir rédigé la Constitution de la Ve République.
Chère famille paternelle un peu cul serré que j’aime bien aussi parce que j’insiste, ils sont souvent très sympas aussi, mais lui, le grand homme et le tout le tsoin tsoin qui m’avait bien fait rire quand je l’avais vu un jour dans son bain, tout con, avec sa bite de ministre qui flottait dans l’eau tiède […]
La seule chose qu’elle ne renie pas est son nom � elle aurait plutôt tendance à l’afficher comme le symbole ultime de la transgression �, elle a d’ailleurs écrit un livre à ce sujet, .
Également publié sur mon .
February 25, 2024
I was surprised this had such negative reviews - the narrator is definitely absolutely insufferable but I kind of like to see a female main character be unlikeable and harsh. Really enjoyed the writing style, very atmospheric and conveyed a lot about the characters in very few words.
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October 4, 2024How interesting to be married to a man for 15 years, come out, then be a terrible misogynist? Such an interesting choice! Can’t understand it! French people are lame! Anyways it is sad that so many of us are so ourselves between 2-5yrs and then never again
October 24, 2024
Sad and monotone. Reminds me of intro to a house in Nebraska by Ethel Cain but like for 170 pages
April 21, 2025
Autant j'avais beaucoup aimé Love Me Tender mais là ...
L'écriture plate, orale, crue, vulgaire, tout ça me plait, ce n'est pas ça qui m'a dérangé. Mais la Constance de ce bouquin parle, pense et envisage la femme comme un homme. Sa vision du corps et de la sexualité m'a déplu, et même si oui, la vulgarité et l'objectification de la baise n'est pas seulement réservée aux mecs, ça m'a trop soulé de lire ça de la part d'une lesbienne. Même sa vision de l'amour est sexuelle et dégradante. C'est vraiment pas mon délire. Au delà de ça son rapport pseudo déconstruit à la bourgeoisie m'a aussi énervé, et j'ai trouvé que la plume n'était pas très naturelle. C'est un style oral mais il m'a semblé poussé, forcé dans le vocabulaire et les phrases utilisées. Bref, j'ai pas aimé.
L'écriture plate, orale, crue, vulgaire, tout ça me plait, ce n'est pas ça qui m'a dérangé. Mais la Constance de ce bouquin parle, pense et envisage la femme comme un homme. Sa vision du corps et de la sexualité m'a déplu, et même si oui, la vulgarité et l'objectification de la baise n'est pas seulement réservée aux mecs, ça m'a trop soulé de lire ça de la part d'une lesbienne. Même sa vision de l'amour est sexuelle et dégradante. C'est vraiment pas mon délire. Au delà de ça son rapport pseudo déconstruit à la bourgeoisie m'a aussi énervé, et j'ai trouvé que la plume n'était pas très naturelle. C'est un style oral mais il m'a semblé poussé, forcé dans le vocabulaire et les phrases utilisées. Bref, j'ai pas aimé.
March 28, 2020
Cela faisait quelques temps, déjà , que j'avais envie de découvrir Constance Debré. L'écriture est "comme un couteau", pour reprendre les mots d'Annie Ernaux : à mi-chemin entre la rage (presque comme Virginie Despentes : cru, mais édulcoré) et la tentative d'introspection. L'écriture est percutante, directe, captivante, les constats vindicatifs. La ligné Debré n'a qu'à bien se tenir.
Le récit est ancré dans une littérature contemporaine composée de récits de vie. Ici, il s'agit d'une avocate qui ressent qu'il est nécessaire, pour sa survie, de changer toute sa vie : du barreau, elle passe au bureau où elle commence à écrire ; du mari, elle passe aux conquêtes féminines et découvre un plaisir qu'elle pensait n'avoir jamais éprouvé (ou peut-être que si, en fait, lorsqu'elle avait quatre ans).
Les phrases sont courtes, la narration manque quelques fois un peu de panache, mais les chapitres nous entraînent l'un après l'autre. Au final, un livre intéressant, qui m'a beaucoup parlé. Le besoin courageux et impérieux de changer de vie.
Le récit est ancré dans une littérature contemporaine composée de récits de vie. Ici, il s'agit d'une avocate qui ressent qu'il est nécessaire, pour sa survie, de changer toute sa vie : du barreau, elle passe au bureau où elle commence à écrire ; du mari, elle passe aux conquêtes féminines et découvre un plaisir qu'elle pensait n'avoir jamais éprouvé (ou peut-être que si, en fait, lorsqu'elle avait quatre ans).
Les phrases sont courtes, la narration manque quelques fois un peu de panache, mais les chapitres nous entraînent l'un après l'autre. Au final, un livre intéressant, qui m'a beaucoup parlé. Le besoin courageux et impérieux de changer de vie.
August 29, 2024
Some people complain ohhh it’s misogynistic.. so?
1. The whole culture is rife with misogyny. Most works of great literature are pretty fucked up.
2. Sometimes when a woman hurts you, you think stupid nonsense, unless you’re an absolute saint or lying to yourself.
3. She’s not particularly flattering towards anyone. Women, men, herself so�
It’s an interesting book and feels quite honest. I wish I had enough French to have read it in the original.
1. The whole culture is rife with misogyny. Most works of great literature are pretty fucked up.
2. Sometimes when a woman hurts you, you think stupid nonsense, unless you’re an absolute saint or lying to yourself.
3. She’s not particularly flattering towards anyone. Women, men, herself so�
It’s an interesting book and feels quite honest. I wish I had enough French to have read it in the original.
May 1, 2018
Une esthétique du vulgaire, un snobisme assumé, du cul à toutes les pages. Et pourtant, ça se lit vite... "Ça passe" à part quelques clichés vraiment malsain, vraiment, vraiment...
April 14, 2024
Not as good as Love Me Tender. Idk, impossible to read this type of book and not think “oh but you’re rich� the whole time
May 5, 2024
I always enjoy her writing... But this was basically the same book as Love Me Tender.
January 12, 2025
I absolutely devoured this in one day over a train journey and a half!
This is not a book about a particularly nice person who has particularly nice people in their life, but it as intensely bittersweetbitter story of sapphic love and sex and gender and depression and nihilism.
It is probably one of the most French things to ever exist.
There's something so abrasive and acerbic, even caustic, about the protagonist and the tender and complicated, but also violent and hateful relationships she has with an older woman and a younger woman, as she embarks upon a suffocating metamorphosis of learning to embrace her love and hatred, reverence and revulsion, and longing and lust for women and what a woman can be.
The poetic, short chapters and vignettes, all in the incredibly intimate voice of the protagonist are quite literally breathtaking. I genuinely felt winded and wild reading this and absolutely couldn't put it down.
I absolutely need to read it again and more of this author!
I also need more time to reflect on what it is saying, particularly about gender and womanhood.
The relationship with the younger woman has a particular problematic element to it that I also need more time to reflect on and the reason for it's inclusion.
Ultimately, this isn't a pleasant or affirming read and it doesn't exactly have a great deal of narrative closure, so I can absolutely understand it not being someone's cup of tea, but I found it absolutely bewitching and engrossing and I kinda absolutely fucking loved it.
What can I say? I adore my fellow sad girls and disaster Queers.
A strange result of reading this is wanting to give My Year of Rest and Relaxation another go in text form, after DNFing the audiobook a while back.
This is not a book about a particularly nice person who has particularly nice people in their life, but it as intensely bittersweetbitter story of sapphic love and sex and gender and depression and nihilism.
It is probably one of the most French things to ever exist.
There's something so abrasive and acerbic, even caustic, about the protagonist and the tender and complicated, but also violent and hateful relationships she has with an older woman and a younger woman, as she embarks upon a suffocating metamorphosis of learning to embrace her love and hatred, reverence and revulsion, and longing and lust for women and what a woman can be.
The poetic, short chapters and vignettes, all in the incredibly intimate voice of the protagonist are quite literally breathtaking. I genuinely felt winded and wild reading this and absolutely couldn't put it down.
I absolutely need to read it again and more of this author!
I also need more time to reflect on what it is saying, particularly about gender and womanhood.
The relationship with the younger woman has a particular problematic element to it that I also need more time to reflect on and the reason for it's inclusion.
Ultimately, this isn't a pleasant or affirming read and it doesn't exactly have a great deal of narrative closure, so I can absolutely understand it not being someone's cup of tea, but I found it absolutely bewitching and engrossing and I kinda absolutely fucking loved it.
What can I say? I adore my fellow sad girls and disaster Queers.
A strange result of reading this is wanting to give My Year of Rest and Relaxation another go in text form, after DNFing the audiobook a while back.
March 22, 2025
idk tell me im being willfully obtuse if i am but i think its boring and lacks nuance to call constance debré straight up misogynistic in this book. the high horse seems like a dull little time. Its a tough line to draw between complete honesty and provocation for the sake of a reaction and i think she toes it well. that being said. i would not want to get a beer with her or a glass of wine or even a cup of water
March 6, 2025
acidic & brilliant
June 2, 2024
Ja, het lijkt heel sterk op Love Me Tender, maar ik vind de stem en het ritme van Debrés werk zo verslavend lezen. Uitgelezen in het vliegtuig, terwijl de man naast me over mijn schouder meelas.
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