In this case, Kiff Kiff tomorrow. Published in 2004, this book in which she recounted the daily life of a young Franco-Algerian from the suburbs, sold 400,000 copies. A real phenomenon.
“Millénium blues” by Faïza Guène
The end of illusions
Twenty years and five published novels later, Faiza Guène decided to give her readers news about Doria, her main character. Water has obviously flowed under the bridge and the now thirty-year-old has lost a lot of her illusions even if she already knew “at 15” that he was “It’s hard to escape your fate.”
In this new monologue, supported more by digressions than actions, Doria explains to us that at the professional level, it's a bit of a rout. She is now unemployed after deciding to quit hairdressing, drunk at having to take care of “ex-one-night stands of Claude François”.
On the heart side, it is also a period of transition. Doria married and had a child with a salesman from Darty, originally from Jura, son of racist fans of Jean-Luc Reichmann, who spent his evenings cheating on her or partying with his colleagues in “Redneck Irish Pubs” on the Grands Boulevards. In short, Dora decided to leave him and she did the right thing.
Her heroine evokes, once again, her mother and Hamoudi, a man who once loved poetry and recited Rimbaud's poems to her, but turned conspiratorial. “Imagine my surprise the day he told me that Stevie Wonder was pretending to be blind.”
Funny and tender
Those who have read the first book will recognize Doria's verve and her lucid view of French society (rise of the far right, radicalization of certain young people, feminism, the evolution of romantic relationships, the emergence of social networks… ). Because Faïza Guène has spent the last two decades under the scanner. It could be depressing, but it's often very funny and at times tender.
Everyone gets what they deserve. A bike freak who thinks he's allowed everything and is treated like a “gentrifier”. Men who do nothing at home, certain women who show their sorority, but are hyenas to each other, old people, suburbanites, bald people, teachers, influencers and even his mother with her Jeffrey Dahmer-style sunglasses . A real breath of fresh air.
⇒ Enjoy yesterday? | Novel | Faïza Guène | Fayard, 270 pp., €20.90, digital €15
