At the time of his accident, François (42 years old) is no longer with Isabelle (48 years old). He has fallen in love with Eléonore (24 years old). After this tragedy that left him disabled, will Léo stay by his side? It is still Isabelle, his wife, who signed “for better and for worse” we can read at one point.
Tenir debout is dedicated to Yann and Pauline, a couple whose husband is paraplegic. In the “Acknowledgments”, Mélissa Da Costa says that it was from him that she got a lot of information. “Subjects as specific and diverse as post-operative care, the rehabilitation process, spasticity, neurological pain, how orthoses work.” By drawing on this precious testimony, the 34-year-old French novelist has managed to give her story deep credibility, over 600 pages – a story that was not made to be put down: it is therefore read in one go, or almost.
Interview with Mélissa Da Costa for “Women from the End of the World”
Roman choral
Mélissa Da Costa gives the floor, within the same chapter (there are 60) to one or the other of the protagonists. Each time in the first person: their feelings then shine through but also how little they communicate. Before the accident, when this young couple (they had only just met) arranged to meet, everything was still very carnal.
At first, François lives in denial: even if he can’t feel them, he still has his legs! Not only will he never walk again, but he will have to rethink his sexuality. His anger explodes, his provocations hurt, the arguments accelerate, the couple advances on a razor’s edge. “What kind of monster have I become?”, François wonders.
From the hospital to the rehabilitation center, from the Parisian apartment to the house in Burgundy, Mélissa Da Costa describes everything in great detail. She has no equal in summoning one or another character (Ryan, the hilarious roommate; Elsa, the sweet and understanding physiotherapist) who helps defuse the tragedy of the situation. Although she multiplies the pitfalls, everything quickly returns to normal. When, having finally become parents, Léo leaves the house in the car with the baby in the back, we hear the tires screeching on the gravel, we fear the worst… which will not happen but which we will have dreaded.
It is no coincidence that Mélissa Da Costa is the best-selling French author of the moment – after dethroning Guillaume Musso. She subtly balances factual and emotional elements in the staging of this couple who overcome adversity. Unstoppable.
⇒ Stand up | Novel | Mélissa Da Costa | Albin Michel, 602 pp., €22.90, digital €16
EXTRACT
“- Am I ugly? Am I ugly as well as being incontinent, paraplegic and impotent?
– Stop, it’s just…
– What is it just?
– Without your hair…
– Well?
I press it, it settles.
– Without your hair, it’s not really you anymore.
– Oh yeah? Well, imagine that without my legs, without my tail, it’s not really me anymore either. Bad news, honey! All that’s left is a pale copy of me!”
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