Take an interest in the story of a group of terrorists and end up telling your own life story. This is Monica Sabolo’s approach in this original and captivating novel.
Little is known about Direct Action in Quebec, a far-left French terrorist organization that was very active in the 1980s. Like the Red Brigades in Italy, Direct Action was responsible for several attacks, armed robberies and assassinations, including that of of the big boss of Renault, Georges Besse, in front of his Parisian home in November 1986.
Monica Sabolo is interested in the main members of this group – the last ones were arrested in 1987 – who dream of overthrowing capitalism. Among them, two women particularly fascinate her: Nathalie Ménigon and Joëlle Aubron, a young bourgeois from Neuilly-sur-Seine who is the subject of another novel published this year, The girl from Deauvilleby Vanessa Schneider (Grasset).
Initially, Sabolo embarked on a rather journalistic approach: she delved into the archives, tried to trace the thread of history, to interview ex-members of Direct Action still alive, witnesses who could reveal details to her. forgotten.
But through this story comes another, much more personal, about his own childhood. Born in Milan, Italy, Monica Sabolo grew up in Geneva with her brother, her mother and the one she believed to be her biological father until she was 15, when she discovered her birth certificate with the mention “unknown father “.
Sabolo pulls the threads of the two stories and skillfully embroiders them before our eyes. As she learns about the underside of Direct Action, she sheds light on the darkest periods of her childhood: lies, denials, incest…
Beyond the story that is told to us, the strength of this novel lies in the nervous, very lively narration, filled with questions from the author who takes us on her obsessive quest, describing the underside of her writing process.
It is no coincidence that this seventh novel by Monica Sabolo ended up on the second list of the Renaudot, Médicis and Goncourt prizes. It was well deserved.
The clandestine life
Monica Sabolo
Gallimard
318 pages