Des phrases courtes, ma chérie

A writer looks back on her mother's last years in a care residence in the French provinces, and on her own place beside her until the end. The mother is a former scientist who long ago escaped the life laid out for her in the countryside: charming, strong-willed, at ease with everyone, and still set on counting for something among the petty rivalries of the home. She hands out her furniture to grandchildren, slips in sideways remarks about her daughter's shoes, and once disapproved of her books, then advised her to write short sentences. The daughter, by turns tender, angry and helpless, finds it painful to watch a parent age, to stay under her sway even as she weakens, and to glimpse her own old age in her. Written after the death, the account also faces how little she knew of her.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Length

222 pages in the original

Genres

Family (assigned by AI)

First published

2001 by Actes Sud

Author's age

60 when first published

ISBN

9782742734016 (original)