“Talk to you about my son”, by Philippe Besson: my son, without battle

Critique
The story of a couple consumed with anxiety over the martyrdom of their son, targeted in a playground, and the obligatory submission to the norm. ★★★☆☆

Philippe Besson’s book is great but not for the reasons you think. The pen is ordinary without this white writing where the style is deliberately retained. The chosen subject which is school bullying seems an author’s idea skillful in targeting his era – and why not. As for the strength of the novel, it lies less in the description of a couple devoured by anxiety in the face of the martyrdom of their son who was targeted in a playground than in the unthought which runs through the story. What thought then? The persistence, throughout, of a banal syndrome: submission to the norm, the inability to take the step that helps us understand situations. Do you have to go to school? We will leave the child there, even if he deteriorates day after day, with the hope that the alerted institution will resolve the problem. Do you have to go to work? Neither father nor mother to put a career on hold and stay at home watching over the teenager until the suicidal risk dissolves and changes school. Great book, therefore, on the disappearance of common sense and the perception of priorities.