Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Music For Little Tikes

"A form of life" deformity of the body to the formlessness of creation

For his latest book A form of life, Amélie Nothomb chooses self-epistolary fiction to stage in a dialogue with a reader out of the ordinary: Melvin Mapple, American soldier based in Iraq and a great lover of his novels.
Soon, an exchange is tied between misunderstanding and complicity. Something happens between the Belgian writer and soldier. The latter assigned the weight of her secret crush who literally: he is obese. Since he is on duty in Iraq, he can cope with the horror of war with a devastating bulimia.

Again, the report body and food - considered here as fuel and means of compensation but not as a source of gustatory pleasure - pervades the novel to become the central subject. The body is both the tool and support the creation, writing in the case of Amelia, art brut, brutal even for Melvin.
The angle chosen to address the issue failed and disturbing. A joke, a provocation on the part of Amelia fictitious and everything starts to spin. Besides the epistolary form, the author inserts sections on daily life. His reflections acid interfere in waiting times of a letter from its correspondent. Its particular focus and logic often bordering on the absurd always make reading as light and entertaining.

Yet something in this book touched me.


Perhaps it is the glorification of the human relationship that goes through the paper and slow. This time gave the answer that makes deep exchange. Exchange, however, based on an assumption of sincerity and trust that can collapse like a sand castle washed by a wave too strong.
And, in the heart of the novel, there is the issue of obesity viscous, those who know me know that I have three phobias: dizziness - I can not help that it is genetic, Finally, the dentist, especially the sound of instruments and large.
Excess fat causes in me a deep disgust coupled with a morbid curiosity that makes me unable to ignore an obese person if it is in my vicinity. So very graphic descriptions of surgery and almost swollen body and monstrous Marvin arouse conflicting emotions in me violent ... Delicious!

I also appreciate the writings of Amelia, I am rarely disappointed. I read
A form of life in the wake of Antéchrista . A chance for the two structures are linked together naturally with a particular nod.
My only regret is the narrative structure. Construction is still the same. The systematic application of a scheme that works well bothers me a bit. However, this in no way undermines the pleasure of reading, since, at the outset, it is easy to know where the author is headed. After all, Nothomb does not write thrillers!
Besides, writing this column in the cold, I realize that I again want to read this novel ...

0 comments:

Post a Comment