«La Vrai Vie»: the Fnac Novel Prize goes to the heart

An overview of some of the major literary prizes - episode #

Le Regard Libre N° 48 - Loris S. Musumeci

«One summer evening, my mother had made peaches with tuna, which we ate on the blue stone terrace overlooking the garden. My father had already slipped away to settle in front of his TV with his bottle of Glenfiddich. He didn’t like spending time with us. I think that in this family, no one really enjoyed the time when we’d all gather together for dinner. But my father imposed this ritual on us, just as much as he imposed it on himself. Because that’s just how it was. A family eats meals together, whether they enjoy it or not. That’s what we saw on TV.»

Despite the heavy atmosphere in the family, the ten-year-old girl who tells us the story of Real Life She leads a fairly peaceful and happy life. She does well in school. She enjoys playing with her little brother Gilles; and most of all, she loves it when they go to buy a delicious ice cream from the friendly ice cream truck—but be careful, no whipped cream, because Dad doesn’t allow it. One beautiful summer day, a terrible accident occurs. Everything changes. Dad becomes increasingly violent; Mom becomes increasingly submissive; and Gilles changes completely. He doesn’t smile anymore. The little girl then wants to find a way to go back in time, just like she saw in a movie, and turn back the clock so that Gilles will keep smiling.

Real Life is Adeline Dieudonné’s debut novel. And what a debut novel! The young Belgian author is making a splash this fall with her completely unexpected success. With excellence, skill, rhythm, intelligence, and talent, she delivers a work that chronicles the daily life of a young girl from age ten to fifteen, as she navigates a world gradually stripped of the fantasy that fuels children’s imaginations, stepping into the real world. It’s the world of teenagers who lose the filter of innocence from their gaze, who discover desire, and who witness death and violence unfolding where one least expects it.

This is a favorite of mine—one that could have been a disaster. Reading the novel through a child’s eyes could have plunged the text into a false naivety, but that wasn’t the case at all. The feminist themes could have veered into activism, but that wasn’t the case at all either, because the story goes beyond feminism. This work of fiction is free of ideology. Combining clear, sensitive, and beautiful language with the voice of a young girl who, as the book progresses, moves toward adolescence, Adeline Dieudonné offers an exceptional experience. What is it like to see your father hit your mother? What is it like to lose the friendship of a beloved brother? What is it like to be unable to say anything to your mother? The novel obviously doesn’t answer these questions, but it draws us right into them.

Which makes it even more of a Real Life What makes this a brilliant book is that it’s truly comprehensive. It offers a very compelling look at childhood, a very realistic portrayal of a couple, and also explores the transition from illusion to disillusionment. There’s fantasy, humor, captivating sensuality, action, suspense, social commentary, and above all, a genuine story. An extremely enjoyable read that lives up to the Fnac Novel Prize and the Renaudot Prize for High School Students—two of the many awards Adeline Dieudonné has won—both of which are awarded by amateur, yet no less passionate, readers.

Real Life is a gift. A story that stays with you and is unforgettable. Because it is at once so true and so fictional; so surprising and so ordinary; so moving and so abject; so literary and so cinematic. A must-read! For teenagers, teachers, moms, seniors, and critics alike. Honestly, a book like this is one of life’s true pleasures. Real Life.

«That’s when I understood. It pounced on me like a starving wild animal, tearing at my back with its clawed paws. The laughter I’d heard when the old man’s face had exploded—it came from her. The thing I couldn’t name, but that hung in the air—that thing lived inside the hyena. That stuffed body was the lair of a monster. Death lived in our home. And it was staring at me with its glass eyes. Its gaze bit into the nape of my neck, reveling in the sweet scent of my little brother.»

Write to the author: loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com

Adeline Dieudonné
Real Life
Iconoclaste Publishing
2018
266 pages

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