Staff Pick
At face value, The End of Eddy is a gripping autobiographical novel set in an impoverished village in France that recounts the childhood of the author, Edouard Louis. But it is much more than a coming-of-age story. As readers become acquainted with the horrors of growing up poor and gay in a conservative and macho-obsessed society, they come to realize the power of Louis's story. Edouard exerts himself to be a "tough guy" throughout the book, but I was convinced of Louis's enduring spirit and ability to honestly share ugly truths. Recommended By Alex Y., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
An autobiographical novel about growing up gay in a working-class town in Picardy.
"Every morning in the bathroom I would repeat the same phrase to myself over and over again . . . Today I'm really gonna be a tough guy." Growing up in a poor village in northern France, all Eddy Bellegueule wanted was to be a man in the eyes of his family and neighbors. But from childhood, he was different--"girlish," intellectually precocious, and attracted to other men.
Already translated into twenty languages, The End of Eddy captures the violence and desperation of life in a French factory town. It is also a sensitive, universal portrait of boyhood and sexual awakening. Like Karl Ove Knausgaard or Edmund White, Edouard Louis writes from his own undisguised experience, but he writes with an openness and a compassionate intelligence that are all his own. The result--a critical and popular triumph--has made him the most celebrated French writer of his generation.