"…I’ve realized that yours is the story of a human being who fought for the right to exist as a woman, as opposed to the nonexistence imposed upon you by your life, and life with my father.”
A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS (2021; translated into English, 2022 by Tash Aw; 112 pp.) is French author Édouard Louis’ fourth published work. The author has become a sensation in France (and elsewhere) with his earlier works. EN FINIR AVEC EDDY BELLEGUEULE (2014; published in English in 2018 as THE END OF EDDY) focuses on the author’s youth and adolescence and his escape from poverty and both an unloving home and a life in a brutally conservative rural France where he was bullied for his effeminate appearance and gay sexuality. HISTOIRE DE LA VIOLENCE (2016; published in English in 2018 as HISTORY OF VIOLENCE), has him starting a new life in Paris where he is brutally assaulted, raped, and suffering from PTSD and a legal system which disregards LGBTQ citizens. His third work, QUI A TUÉ MON PÈRE (2018; published in English as WHO KILLED MY FATHER in 2019) again centers on his family life with especial attention given to scrutinizing his father and the life-altering events which turns him into a bitter, angry, abusive alcoholic. With A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS Louis produces a memoir of his mother—a woman who, in her youth in a picture he discovers, appears to have a wonderful future ahead of her, but instead succumbs to a weary and exhausting existence with two failed marriages and a society in which women are expected to follow certain traditions and roles without questioning or exception.
In many ways A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS is a departure from Louis’ earlier work. It is a very slim volume. At times the author appears to be trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle with pieces which are missing and no picture which resembles the final production upon which to use as an outline. As such, the book skips around in time and place as Louis ruminates, tries to remember events, analyzes his life as well as times with his mother and family, and draws upon conversations the two have years after he has left home.
Growing up, Louis’ mother, Monique, is already in her second marriage and a downtrodden, withdrawn woman with her dreams about what her life could have been long behind her. She has little to do or say to her family unless she is lashing out in frustration and anger. It is a sad portrait, especially of a mother. The bond between Louis and his mother is all but non-existent and when he most needs her support most when trying to make sense of his sexuality and deal with harassment from both his peers and his older brother, he is met with condemnation. Louis admits the lack of a meaningful relation with his mother actually helps him achieve one of his goals: “I didn’t want you to know who I was.” More tellingly, Louis writes, “I had succeeded, throughout my entire childhood, in keeping you ignorant of what my life was—and, ultimately, in preventing you from becoming my mother.”
Louis tells his story without rancor or blame. If anything, he is harder on himself than he is upon his mother for lost opportunities as a lonely and lost gay youth.
Written in a concise form, every word counts in A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS. Every sentence draws the reader into Louis’ mind as well as into what he learns about Monique. The memoir is a journey of growth. There is evolution by the author as he learns more about his mother and why she was like she was. Thankfully, there is also tremendous advancement in Monique’s life once, after twenty years of marriage, she summons the courage and resolve to leave Louis’ father and strike out on her own to start a new and better life.
The book can be a fast read, but it leaves readers with much to ponder. A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS couldn’t come at a better time when women around the world are faced with societal and legal challenges which would have them become second-place citizens with fewer rights than they have had for years. Thus, A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS is a meaningful work of art which is both highly personal and at the same time universal. In spite of the sadness, the tragedy of so much time wasted and life allowed to be squandered, Louis’ memoir is a book of optimism and cause for celebration. One can make a difference in their life; they need not accept the unacceptable. They can change if they dare to step away from the expectations and limitations placed upon them by others. Insightful and intelligently written, the power of A WOMAN’S BATTLES AND TRANSFORMATIONS goes well beyond its slight number of pages.
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From the Publisher
Praise for A Woman's Battles and Transformations by Édouard Louis and Tash Aw
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