Book. “Female DNA” by Louise Oligny: “My work as a photographer was already underway. It’s the same thing for my novels”

Have you ever been to Oise?

In Oise, no, but in Hauts-de-France yes. More than 25 years ago now, I made a photographic report on the factory closures in Nord/Pas-de-Calais, and on the people who went on strike to obtain better starting conditions. I worked on this subject for two years. The result was presented in La Villette (Paris).

What is your background?

Basically, I am a photographer-reporter. I first worked in Montreal, where I was born. Then I moved to France. I have collaborated with many French magazines. About fifteen years ago, I wanted to do more artistic work. A first project took me to the town of Bosquets de Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis). Then a second in Créteil (Val-de-Marne), with the help of the DRAC (Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs), where, for a year, I worked on the theme of love in cities. That’s when I discovered the Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis, where I began to lead a workshop with an author/designer, Clémentine du Pontavice. The idea this time was to work on the bodies of women victims of violence. The result was published in 2021 in a book, Repairing the intimate. This self-esteem workshop has continued. It has now existed for eight years at the Maison des femmes and was also set up at La Pitié Salpêtrière (Editor’s note: within the Casavia unit which aims to combat violence against women and promote sexual health ).

Your novels all demonstrate a strong commitment…

ADN Feminin actually talks about violence against women. My first, Chronic Anger(Editor’s note: released in 2023) evoked the cruelty of the world of work for those over 50. My work as a photographer was already underway; we ultimately find the same thing in my novels, but told in a different way. When I told stories with photos, there were people’s faces and that posed a problem for me. That was my limit. In the novel, people are anonymous; these are stories that I mix up. What I want to say, I can say without having someone endorse it with their name and identity.

You nevertheless use humor a lot, even with difficult subjects.

I hope we laugh, yes! Humor allows you to lighten up, to gain distance. And even if in my work as a photographer and journalist I have been close to reality, I am not a sociologist. Using humor, through the detective novel, allows me to go further. I don’t have the skills to write a book that isn’t fiction. Even if there was indeed Repairing the intimatein 2021. But it was more of a testimonial book.

The other common thread in your novels is Diane, your main character.

I wanted an anti-hero. Diane is not always very friendly. I didn’t want a perfect character, who would endorse morality, virtue… Because that doesn’t exist in real life. And I didn’t want to doADN Feminina novel where all the women are perfect and the men are all bastards. I wanted to achieve a balance. Diane has a life force, I would even say a rage for life; he is someone who does not always think before acting, who is on impulse. And its wacky side allows us to question ourselves.

Is being an author in a genre, that of crime fiction (Editor’s note: Louise Oligny is part of Louves du polar, a collective which aims to promote the writings of French-speaking crime fiction authors), dominated by men, complicated?

The world of crime fiction is extraordinary! When I started doing shows, it was a nice surprise. I meet supportive people there, curious about each other. I also have a wonderful editor who supports me in all my projects. So indeed, when we look at sales, the fifteen biggest best-sellers of detective literature in France are written by men. But at the same time, they have talent… However, I feel that things are changing, that women are taking up more and more space. It’s coming!

Will Diane be back in your next novel?

Yes. At the beginning, I was going for something different, something very, very funny. But the more I write it, the more I realize that Diane will ultimately have to face new problems. In the end, it will also be a committed novel.