{"id":20787,"date":"2019-05-28T20:55:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T18:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=20787"},"modified":"2023-09-10T18:44:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T16:44:39","slug":"gabriel-tallents-my-absolute-darling-is-an-exceptional-novel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/litterature\/my-absolute-darling-de-gabriel-tallent-est-un-roman-exceptionnel\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abGabriel Tallent's \u00bbMy Absolute Darling\" is an exceptional novel."},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday books - Loris S. Musumeci<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real adventure! Indeed, we can say without a moment's hesitation that Gabriel Tallent's novel packs a punch. My Absolute Darling <\/em>tells the story of Turtle Alveston. She is fourteen years old and lives alone with her father in North Carolina. She doesn't much like school, and has trouble socializing with anyone but her father and grandfather. In fact, Turtle is a bit of a wild child, according to her father. And he's proud of it. He's taught his little girl to live in the wild, to be physically tough to the limit, to be independent in any situation, to handle weapons, to hunt, to fish - in short, to live life the hard way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Many people would dream of a life like that. The\u2019american way of life<\/em>, nostalgic for the open range, cowboys, and runaways. In short: total freedom<\/em>! But then again, even though these walks in nature could form the basis of a novel, Gabriel Tallent gives his subject more depth. Because Turtle isn\u2019t really that free. Her prison is her father. Possessive and jealous, he keeps her in his clutches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She belongs to him, and him alone. She believes he loves her; she believes she loves him. She\u2019s crazy about her father\u2014especially when he caresses her, especially when he climbs on top of her, especially when\u2026 you get the picture. Despite the romantic feelings she has for her father, the violence he\u2019s also capable of makes her realize that this relationship isn\u2019t all good. It\u2019s unhealthy. And she craves true freedom, a true adventure. \u00a0A true desire. After running away, after meeting a young boy named Jacob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An exceptional novel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My Absolute Darling <\/em>has been the talk of the town. An absolute favorite of Fran\u00e7ois Busnel, host of the prestigious TV show \u00abLa grande librairie\u00bb; a masterpiece, according to a certain Stephen King. Honestly, and rightly so! I loved it, too. And I read a lot\u2014good books, good novels. Even the current literary offerings that some people disparage. This novel is special, though. First, because it combines many qualities that touch on both style and substance; second, because it simply grabs you by the gut and captivates you. Yes! Let\u2019s say it without hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of writing style, it is the interior monologue and the art of description that give the book\u2019s pages their freshness and power. Turtle sometimes comes across as slow to think, but her thoughts come in a flurry. They contradict each other, hesitate, correct themselves, retract, fade away, resurface, then hesitate again, and grow angry, insult, shout, despair, love, hate, and desire. Suffice it to say that such a collection of shifting states of mind cannot appear clear <\/em>to the reader, through the pen of a writer who knows how to penetrate a mind in turmoil and capture it brilliantly on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abShe thinks, \u00bbI love him, I love him so damn much, but\u2014but let me get a little distance. Let him come after me. And we\u2019ll see what he does, right? We\u2019re playing a game, and I think he knows it well; I hate him for something\u2014something he does\u2014he goes too far and I hate him, but I\u2019m unsure of my hatred; guilty, full of doubts and self-loathing, almost too much to actually hold it against him; That\u2019s me\u2014a damn slut; so I cross the line again to see if he\u2019ll do something just as bad; it\u2019s a way of seeing if I\u2019m right to hate him; I want to know.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Attention to detail<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As for the descriptions, they are rich and vivid. Tallent has a keen eye for detail\u2014whether in his depictions of the characters\u2019 physical appearances or, above all, in his descriptions of the natural world in which Turtle lives. The delicacy of the pebbles, the wood, the water, and the fire contrasts with the violence of a hostile and dangerous environment. And you feel swept along with the characters. Here, you travel, you get out of breath from all the climbing and running about. You dream of pristine, untamed nature. It\u2019s simply delightful and thrilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abShe waits all evening. She rubs the inside of one foot against the arch of the other. Her skin is dry and weathered, and when she arches her foot, the sole is crisscrossed with ripples. The skin is grained like a knot in wood, and cracks dot the calluses like so many holes along the high-tide line. She succumbs to silence, and when she wakes, it is still dark, and he is still not there.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Or:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abThe sun is sinking below the horizon; the moon is rising in the southeast\u2014a gibbous moon with a waxy hue, a day or two before the full moon\u2014hanging almost directly opposite the sun in the sky. It\u2019s cold. The wind dies down at sunset and then picks up again.\u00bb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Rien n’est jamais simple<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the style, it\u2019s the substance that captivates. The subjects are abundant and nuanced. So this isn\u2019t a catch-all, but rather a weaving together of themes that show that nothing is ever as simple as we think\u2014that nuances permeate the entirety of a story, right down to the smallest details. Turtle deals with nature, certainly, as well as incest, domination, manipulation, the tug-of-war between a love devoid of meaning and a hatred full of rage\u2014and, of course, desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turtle\u2019s father, Martin, is, in fact, portrayed with great subtlety. His cultural references are vast: he knows everything about everything, reads philosophy and literature. He\u2019s a skilled orator. Charismatic. Skilled. And when he declares his love for his daughter\u2014for her beauty, her strength, and her courage\u2014we\u2019re tempted to believe him. In fact, we really do believe him. And so we understand that he can be a monster. Because his daughter belongs to him, just as his rifle belongs to him, just as his pickup truck belongs to him. With Martin, we experience the horror to which a love <\/em>excessive. And expect the worst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to mention the complexity of Turtle\u2019s character herself. A woman yet a misogynist, intelligent yet a failure in school, rough yet delicate, withdrawn yet selfless, in love yet wounded. Affectionate yet raped. A journey through a hostile natural world, as I was saying\u2014but also through a psyche that\u2019s hostile to itself. And needless to say, you can\u2019t help but fall for a personality like that. You grow attached to her. You want to follow her, you want to trust her\u2014just as you\u2019d love to scream in her face to snap out of it a little and stop languishing under the yoke of her father\u2019s oppression. Turtle is an exceptional character. Still a little too much of a child; already too much of a woman. She\u2019s crazy. She\u2019s funny in spite of herself. She\u2019s tragic, without a doubt. She lives within me. She has become my Absolute Darling<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n