Reviews for Robert des noms propres (The Book of Proper Names)

The average rating for Robert des noms propres (The Book of Proper Names) based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-07-04 00:00:00 Kent Cope I am left without words. And not in a "I just read the best book in my entire life, this was mindblowing"-kind of way, no, there is just no way I will be able to put Amélie's weird ass narrative into words. Logically, I shouldn't have even liked this book. It's way too bizarre and fucked up for my usual taste but somehow this really worked and I adore the shit out of this novel. This is by no means an all-encompassing recommendation as I have the feeling that a lot of readers will not enjoy Amélie's work, the average 3.5 stars-rating here on Goodreads should be indicator enough that a lot of people didn't like this narrative as much as I did. Personally, I really appreciate how original Amélie's story seemed to me. It was truly a breath of fresh air. In a vaguely surreal story, an extraordinary little girl is born from strange circumstances - her mother murdered her father, gave birth in prison, and then hanged herself. Plectrude, as the girl is unfortunately named by her mother, is adopted by her aunt and lives a fairy-like existence until she enrolls into the Paris Opera Ballet School, a rigorous institution portrayed as a "scalpel to slice away the last flesh of childhood." The story is so surreal that its most violent moments almost become comedic. Lucette murders the father of her child and yells for the police to get her, with such an unshakable air of jejuneness, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. When the police officer arrives and slowly but surely realizes that Lucette killed her husband because she disagreed with his preferred choice of a first name for their baby, I lost it completely. To be fair, I think I read this book at the perfect moment. Had I read it sometime different I probably would've quickly grown annoyed and irritated by these melodramatic characters, the romanticisation of Plectrude, the aloofness with which important topics such as eating disorders, suicide and domestic abuse were handled etc. but somehow all of this mixed together worked very well for me. Throughout the entire narrative, I always felt that Amélie was in charge of her own story, I didn't think that she was perpetuating unhealthy ideas and ideals without being 100% aware of it and choosing to do so willingly. Plectrude. The name says it all. She is idealised wherever she goes. She is lazy and idle, yet gets hailed as a genius and high flyer at school. She gives the most absurd answers and yet the teachers don't dare to correct her. The other kids are somewhat afraid of her but do look up to her. At her ballet school she soon becomes the "star of her generation". The teachers praise her for her thinness, the other dancers envy her. Clémence, who takes little Plectrude in after Lucette hanged herself, pampers her daughter and thinks she can do no wrong. It is absolutely ridiculous how proud Clémence is of her mad behaviorisms. -Pourquoi ça se terming toujours mal? demanda un jour Rosalyne. - Parce que c'est beaucoup plus beau comme ça, assura Plectrude. Nonetheless, I always felt Amélie's presence throughout these lines, felt that Amélie consciously decided to write these melodramatic and absurd characters; to portray our reality by means of ridiculing and exaggerating it. There are still plot devices that can easily infuriate the reader, e.g. the fact that Plectrude overcomes her severe depression by meeting the love of her life. The girl who was just about to jump from a bridge throws herself in the arms of her lover instead and finds solace there. That felt off, but I can somehow still forgive it. I actually feel quite mad myself writing this review because I cannot put my thoughts adequately into words. There are so many little moments of brilliancy that made me scream YES (in my head and aloud as well). When Plectrude's anorexia is finally diagnosed by a medic, the failure that were her parents and the ballet school as an institution that fostered an abusive environment for kids are critically called out. ("No one knew it." ' "No, no one wanted to know it.") A lot of people closed their eyes in all the wrong moments, so that Plectrude would become a "star". The idea of Plectrude, of what her name destined for her, seemed more important than the girl herself. And even though she was insufferable, I felt for her, especially after her mother turned on her and began one of the most savage bullying tirades that I ever had to read about. Seriously, if you are battling with body image and are easily triggered: do not read this book. "My mother wants my death!" Plectrude realises this too little too late. And by the end of this tale, death is inevitable, but not at the hands of her own mother, but at the hands of the author herself. Amélie Nothomb appears on the page, befriends Plectrude and reminds her that murder is inevitable. Who dies at the end and why is for you to find out. Robert des noms propres is one of the weirdest books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I won't forget it for a long long time and I cannot wait to read more by Amélie, one fucked up soul paying tribute to another.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-08-07 00:00:00 Jewelrit Stewart This is an unusual book for me. First of all, the arc/rhythm of this book. This book starts with strong and bold introduction. A story about a happy couple, in love and in trance with each other embraces and affections. Both consummate and the girl pregnant, too soon by age but ripe enough with the idea. The girl, Lucette carrying a baby of 8 months, rubs her belly and wish that soon she will have a baby that interest in the idea of becoming a dancer. The father, Fabien who are far from reach when she needed wants a different fate for his child. She killed him as she loathed on how he want to name his child, Tanguy. The child born in a jail and named her, Plectrude. The mother committed suicide soon after. There are not so much dynamics in the middle arc. Plectrude fate lies with Lucette's sister, Clemence. She immediately raised and shaped Plectrude as her own among 2 of her own children. Clemence became obsessed with Plectrude. She shaped her up to be a dancer just like her late sister wished for. Plectrude was a different 'mould' from any other typical children. She has a very unique set of eyes, as what they call as 'eyes of a dancer'. At age 13, she was in love with a new transferred boy named, Mathieu Saladin. Awed by his scar across his face but distasted by his behaviour. Heartbroken and ashamed, she left her school and joined a dance school, Petit Rats. She pushed her limits as she weight as a feather and just like a feather without a wind blow, she fell. Enraged, not by herself but by her new mother. Revoked the title as her mom, as a golden child, Clemence spilled out the dark truth about her true mother, Plectrude crushed. In the end. At age 19, just like her mother, she's pregnant. She decides that she will do no harm to the father of her child and just like her mother she had the urge to kill herself right after the baby born. She's dangling her feet at the bridge, contemplating between the sorrow of her child fate will have with her and the promising of her child life in others care. Far from sight, a voice she once knew called her. Saved by a man named Mathieu. Her long lost crush. For 7 years of waiting and searching for her to come back, he found her and this time he sealed his lips with her. Never letting go. At the finish 'line', she met Amelie Nothomb (the author) and she killed her as Amelie questioning and comparing the fate of her mother and hers. Both of the character, Plectrude and Mathieu endings unwritten. Thoughts. I am enjoying this book at the beginning and the ending. Very unusual and a bit strange. Interesting read, nonetheless. That's all.