A runaway bestseller in France, Sans Moi is the resonant story of two Parisian women: the narrator, a single mother and commerical writer struggling to bring up her young family, and Olivia, a recovering drug addict and one-time prostitute who loves children and desperately needs a job. When Olivia-on the face of it a highly unsuitable babysitter-moves in, trailing her chaotic past behind her, their lives collide with unexpected results.But life isn't just a question of the past, and people aren't simply products of their worst experiences. Confronted by the challenges of loneliness and change, the narrator realizes that Olivia has as much to give as she has needs of her own. In the year they live together, companionship, intimacy, and humor create a friendship full of vitality and mutual respect-as well as something of a family life.Marie Desplechin details this emotional terrain with a delicate grace and irony. At once desperate and hopeful, Sans Moi explores the curious nature of friendship and the complicated dynamics of learning how to love and be loved.AUTHORBIO: Marie Desplechin was born in 1959 in Roubaix, Northern France. She is the author of a short story collection, Trop Sensibles, and a children's novel.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Desplechin displays an ear for subtlety in her fine debut novel about two Parisian women, one a practical, driven single mother of two, the other a young recovering drug addict with a besmirched past. The unnamed narrator, a successful freelance corporate writer, meets Olivia through mutual friends and hires her as a live-in babysitter, although Olivia still dabbles in drugs and is emotionally unhinged. The narrator becomes fascinated by Olivia, worrying over her, protecting her and marveling at the things Olivia says and does. "I can't get Olivia's stories out of my head," the narrator admits. "My boundaries, my distinctions between the honest and the criminal are gradually being lost in a fog of confusion." In this confusion, the story takes a riveting 180-degree turn. As Olivia begins to get her life together, the narrator lets her own fall apart. To her credit, Desplechin never dramatizes or moralizes; neither woman comes off as a saint or a sinner. Instead, Desplechin treats the material with a light touch that's sympathetic to complexities. A bestseller in France, this comic novel cleverly outlines what it takes the narrator almost a year to conclude: "Thanks to Olivia," she remarks, "I understand that good is not the opposite of night, white is not the opposite of black. It's more and less simple than that. Olivia's genius saunters through the territory of goodness, whistling." (Feb.)Forecast: A charming, Matisse-like jacket may catch the eye of readers who enjoy sophisticated European relationship dramas in the vein of Tim Parks or Helen Dunmore.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This new work by French novelist Desplechin stars two women: a single mother and copywriter living in Paris and Olivia, a homeless person, drug abuser, and victim of sexual abuse as a child. These two unlikely individuals connect when the narrator needs help caring for her children after her marriage dissolves. Olivia seems less than an ideal candidate, but she gets the job. The narrator and Olivia begin to take care of each other, as well as the children, and a friendship blooms. As Olivia settles in, she rids herself of her disreputable "friends," quits taking drugs, and begins to think about her future. The narrator, on the other hand, begins to have a life crisis what she does for a living seems meaningless, she feels like a bad mother, and she is so very tired. Throughout, the friends change roles, caregiver and caretaker, as needed. Desplechin explores the intricacies of friendship, mapping out the rights and the responsibilities, the joys and the sadness. The author's commentary is spare, yet the full effect of the growing relationship is apparent. Joanna Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Despleche Mode (And We Love It),
This review is from: Sans Moi (Hardcover)
This is one of the most gentle narratives I've yet read, with Desplechin's ability to handle the complexities of her subject matter with a deft touch leaving the distinct feeling that the same material, in other writer's hands, could become more melodramtic and infinitely less effective. The novel focuses on two Parisian women, one a rehabilitating drug addict and the other a seperated successful freelance writer and mother-of-two, and the ups and downs of their relationship. What I really liked about the novel was the downplayment of the narration, which contains within it a very left-of-centre sense of humour, very cynical in its way, but ultimately very warming. Overall I found the book swift to read, and a novel that I would defy you not to enjoy.
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