Phoebe-Hadjimarkos-Clarke © Bénédicte Roscot
Little known until now, despite a collection of poems written jointly with Martin Desinde, 18 Brum’Hairreleased in 2023, and a first novel, Taborpublished by Editions du Sabot in 2021, Phœbe Hadjimarkos Clarke, translator established in Lyon, obtained numerous laudatory articles in the national press for her second opus, Aliene.
The world, Release, The Unrockuptibles, Telerama competed for praise. It must be said thatAliene is not only an excellent book, it is also a unique novel which takes the reader into an imagination that is both strange and futuristic, hyperrealistic and delirious. And which, once the book is closed, continues to haunt him. If we dared to risk a comparison, we would say that these are the Songs of Maldoror of today. No more no less.
We follow the (mis)adventures of Fauvel, a young girl with a strong character and a unique eye, since the second was taken away from her by an LBD shot during a Yellow Vest demonstration. She agrees to look after the dog of the father of one of her friends in an isolated house, in the heart of a dark and distressing countryside. But Hannah is not a dog like the others, she is the clone of the first Hannah who sits, stuffed, in the middle of the living room. The animal is reminiscent of the cloned dog, Fox, canine hero of Michel Houellebecq’s novel, The Possibility of an Islande.
Except that she seems to have evil powers and irrepressible killing instincts in the presence of other animals. We don’t know if it’s Fauvel who follows Hannah or the other way around, but this strange duo will lead us into a succession of improbable adventures.
The book is carried by the captivating writing of Phœbe Hadjimarkos Clarke, capable of probing in depth the psychological twists and turns of the characters as well as describing their actions and actions. Without forgetting to depict the disturbing strangeness of the landscapes that surround them. Definitely an exceptional novel.
Aliene – Phoebe Hadjimarkos Clarke, Éditions du sous-sol, 288 p., €19.50.
