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Reviewed by:
  • La beauté des jours by Claudie Gallay
  • Davida Brautman
Gallay, Claudie. La beauté des jours. Actes Sud, 2017. ISBN 978-2-330-08176-8. Pp. 404.

Jeanne, our wife and mother of college-age twin girls, our postal employee protagonist, likes the unpredictable. Her life is pleasant, but without the unexpected. The performance artist Marina Abramovic influenced Jeanne's early adult years. This is a woman who puts all to the test. When a picture of her falls off the wall in Jeanne's stable, uneventful, perfect home, destiny or chance is put into play. Routine, monotony, and boredom kill. Jeanne's fascination with M.A. becomes an obsession: "le sang, la peur, les larmes... Tout est vrai chez elle. Elle ne fait jamais semblant. Même quand elle aime. Quand elle aime, elle aime à fond" (59). It is unusual in a novel to find photographs. Gallay throws in two to add spice to the story. She writes in short, simple sentences, using a different font for her quotes from M.A. Her portrait of Jeanne is that of a woman slowly, but most assuredly, being stifled. The reader senses that Jeanne will not choose the long, slow, tranquil river. She will choose the road less traveled. Each person's revolt is different. Jeanne meets Martin, a man she loved when she was much younger. Some people might call it a midlife crisis. But it is so much more: it is the result of being a female offspring in a world which favors males; it is taking your husband's name as he takes your voice. It is being inspired by a woman who pushes the limits: "le peu c'est pour après, quand on est mort. Quand on est vivant, il faut tout faire très fort" (216). It is also watching your best friend's spirit crushed, your"different niece" being sent to a "special school," and hoping the fourth pregnancy of your sister yields a male so that your father might become civil again. "Rémy et les filles, ça ne suffisait donc pas? Qu'est-ce qu'elle voulait de plus?" (317) Often, there are two people inside each one of us. There is the risk-taker, and the other aspiring toward a quiet, calm existence. According to Jeanne we need both of them. This is a gentle tale of life, death, love, family, friends, origins, and futures. What we decide to do is arbitrary but is often influenced by the people and events mentioned above. Gallay writes softly. Jeanne is every woman and any woman. It is astounding how her life reverberates and rings true. Yet her fears and faith balance in this novel, making it easy to identify with this well-drawn protagonist and the host of secondary characters who help shape her battle between her reality and the alternate one she could seek. This is a recommended read. [End Page 264]

Davida Brautman
Santa Rosa Alliance Française (CA)
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