Stella knew Mikaël in high school. But they weren’t friends. She was a quiet type, good at drawing, we imagine her to be a good student. Him ? The handsome type, who went out to smoke at recess, cigarettes or whatever. And it obviously had an effect on him.
They meet again a few years later. And even if it’s hard to explain why, it clicks. It’s even magnetic. For all the wrong reasons, they even have a child. Very young. Too young.
If you like stories of the genre, archi clichés, let’s be frank, sewn with white thread, the stories where the girl falls for the bad boy, bewitched by the charm of the eternal bad boy, when everything is screaming (yelling!) for him to flee, this book is for you. No doubt many readers will recognize themselves here. The inexplicable fascination, the weakness of the flesh and the disillusioning tomorrows are brilliantly told. But it becomes boring, exasperating, at times, as our Stella persists and goes around in circles.
What’s more, Lou, the child, the fruit of this misadventure, will grow up. Most of the story also takes place around his 13th birthday. Torn between her father, her prince, whom she will ultimately discover to be completely inadequate, and all the impulses and contradictions of her mother, we feel bad for her throughout.
Certainly, the author’s pen, very thoughtful, fluid and even poetic in parts, largely saves the day. But we certainly wouldn’t recommend this novel to our daughters, for whom we dream of more glorious, independent, free and ambitious models. No doubt those struggling with a toxic relationship will find food for thought there, and, if they make it to the end, a semblance of inspiration…
Make love again
Quebec America
377 pages