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Blogs by Jerome Parisse
The obsessions of Amelie Nothomb
9/27/2010 3:58:50 PM
Amelie Nothomb, the prolific Belgian writer, is an interesting person. Her always short, definitely out-there, novels (some of them more novellas than novels) revolve around a small number of common themes: impossible love, eating disorders, obesity, Japan, and self-introspection. She writes in French, but many of her novels have been translated in several other languages. Some of her books available in English include, Fear and Trembling, The Character of Rain, Tokyo Fiancée, The Life of Hunger, Sulfuric Acid, Loving Sabotage, Hygiene and Assassin (her first novel), The Stranger Next Door, Antichrista, and I’m probably forgetting some. I have just finished reading her latest novel (only available in French as far as I know) entitled “Une Forme de Vie” (A Life Form). I enjoyed it, but I find that Nothomb’s stories tend to involve more and more abstract philosophical discussions that seem to fly at stratospheric heights. Still, her cold, cynical, confronting style is fun and I always find myself laughing hysterically at some of her lines. Among the books I have mentioned and which are published in English, I highly recommend Fear and Trembling, the autobiographical story of a year she spent working in Japan. It will have you in stitches. Her analysis of Japanese society is revealing. Nothomb knows Japan well: she was born and grew up there and is in love with the country. Tokyo fiancée, which is the counterpart of Fear and Trembling, is not quite as good. My other favourite Nothomb novel is Antichrista, the story of a friendship that turns weird and destructive; it’s excellent. Both Fear and Trembling and Antichrista were made into movies. It has to mean something. In her latest book (Une Forme de Vie) Nothomb dissects a mail exchange with an American soldier in Irak, giving us an upsetting insight into the relationship between authors and some of their fans.
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