Tuesday books - Loris S. Musumeci
«These are the words of a desperate man. They are the words of a man who no longer knows how not to suffer and is trying to commit suicide in a way other than by dying; they are the sentences of a man who commits suicide by confession.»
As a novel, Breaking is presented as a journalistic interview between Gaspard Lenoir and Yann Moix. The author is not doing well. He was left by his girlfriend Emmanuelle «ten months ago, on Saturday, September 16, 2017, at around 3 p.m.» From question to question, Yann Moix recounts all his unhappiness. Breaking is about the tragic and ridiculous break-up of love.
Ridicule is an essential dimension of this book, released at the beginning of the year. Starting with the dust jacket. In a tasteless mauve tinting both gray and pink, it displays the title, itself ridiculous, in bound italic type. Frankly, the cover of a romance novel is not far off. Its perfume pervades the whole bookshop and its marshmallow drips onto the shelves. Which, in reality, is good marketing. At least the little book doesn't go unnoticed.
Ridicule isn't limited to appearance; the content is full of it too. Simply because Yann Moix is profoundly ridiculous. What an idea to simulate an interview that has the pretension of being called a novel, in order to tell the story of a break-up that nobody cares about! And as if that weren't enough, the writer proudly proclaims that it was in fact he who left her, evoking his despairing states of mind, displaying his exceptional bad faith and urinating his usual exaggerations and smoky theories.
A brilliant book
For all these reasons, Yann Moix is the brilliant author of a brilliant book. For if the ridiculous is omnipresent, it is also assumed and written with undeniable talent. The language, unsurprisingly, is delicious, because Yann Moix is a lover of words. Because he has a flair for the formulaic, and because he's capable of constructing speeches that nobody understands, but which everyone appreciates for their musicality and elegance. Between you and me, who understands anything in such passages?
«Stunned by my departure, Emmanuelle probably didn't even know herself what she was struggling with. The courage to break away was only taking its first steps. The crucifixion was still liquid. The conclusion was still hazy, a stammering separation. Nevertheless, the rupture had always been there.»
And despite everything, it's beautiful. If style is the skeleton, Yann Moix's originality and finesse are the flesh. The author gives himself away completely. And it doesn't matter if what he says is true or not. In any case, his words ring true. Because they're so human. So masculine. So neurotic. Yann Moix has no limits.
He confesses his bad faith, his contradictory fantasies, his manipulative methods and his cowardice, to the point where it becomes touching. He takes us as witnesses, so that each of us can recognize a part, however small, of his sincere dark side in love, in the light of the story he tells us. A private, intimate, personal story takes on universal significance. That's why Yann Moix is a true writer.
«Being separated forever»
And of course, behind a few passages of neologisms and Judeo-Christian metaphors typical of the author, Breaking is illuminated by an utterly disconcerting truth. Just look at the shocking sentence on the back cover: «Being apart forever is still a way of being together forever.»
It may sound like a sentence thrown out on paper to look good, but what it actually expresses is impressively profound. Indeed, when you've been in a relationship with someone, you stay in that person's story. The break-up allows you to keep your place as a’ex forever. It has forged our personality, and no one can ever erase it.
Breaking is a little book that stays with you, a little companion for those for whom the breakup has come or is yet to come. Breaking, a source of inspiration. An intelligent collection. Reflections that leave a mark on the reader's heart. And then, at last, you feel less alone. Especially when you're a Calimero like Yann Moix, when you've also failed at love, and when you're as ridiculous as he is.
Yann Moix
Breaking
Editions Grasset
2019
108 pages
Write to the author: loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com
Photo credit: © Loris S. Musumeci for Le Regard Libre
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