L’ambition par Iegor Gran (review)

Reviews 265 de dysenterie et de manque de soins. Mila partage son étroite paillasse avec Lisette et quand celle-ci meurt, rompue, elle acceptera une nouvelle compagne qui la soutiendra à travers sa grossesse. L’espoir n’abandonne jamais ces femmes héroïques qui, mourant de faim, de froid et d’épuisement, se racontent des souvenirs de jours heureux pour s’entraider à supporter leur misérable existence.Après la mort de Lisette, Mila retrouve en Theresa, une détenue polonaise, le courage de supporter son calvaire. Quand l’heure est venue pour elle, Mila se voit contrainte de révéler la grossesse que les extrêmes privations du camp lui avaient permis de cacher. Envoyée au Revier d’horrible réputation , elle y rencontre une pédiatre, prisonnière elle aussi, qui usera de tous les moyens restreints qu’elle possède pour aider Mila à garder James, son fils, dans la Kinderzimmer où les bébés meurent de faim et de froid au bout de quelques mois. Quand James meurt à trois mois, Mila accepte de lui substituer le bébé d’une détenue russe qui vient de mourir. À la libération, Mila retourne dans sa famille avec son “fils” désormais appelé Sacha-James. L’épilogue révèle à un Sacha-James, maintenant âgé de dix-neuf ans et complètement sidéré, la vérité sur sa naissance. Un roman poignant et superbement écrit. University of North Carolina, Charlotte Marie-Thérèse Noiset Gran,Iegor. L’ambition.Paris: P.O.L.,2013.ISBN 978-2-8180-1755-5.Pp.211.16,50 a. In the prologue of his tenth work, Gran points out that there are two types of ambition. The Lego approach to life involves planning and strategizing, working up to an ultimate goal by painstakingly accomplishing requisite smaller tasks. Alternatively one can choose to live by Playmobil, using whatever elements you stumble upon to create your own scheme, bypassing socially established constructs in favor of adventure and invention. Embodying these two life strategies are José, who survives by working part-time in a computer repair shop and collecting miniature porcelain figurines for resale, and his girlfriend Cécile, a goal-oriented receptionist in a Parisian art gallery. Their relationship has run its course, and Cécile has grown weary of what she thinks is José’s lack of ambition. The parting of their ways proves to be fruitful, providing the impetus for these characters to find financial independence and a role in society. José, despite his average intellect and unfocused motivation, stumbles upon a lucrative opportunity as a tutor, while Cécile immerses herself in the profitable world of photographic art and gallery responsibilities. Ironically, José, unconsciously revolting against Cécile’s criticism, transforms into a catalyst that unleashes the petty ambitions of a host of supporting characters. José’s apartment mate is determined to be all that José is not. José’s entrepreneurial student ensures José’s popularity as a tutor in exchange for a cut of the profits José makes. In exchange for letting José exploit the mysticism society associates with artists, José’s cynical procrastinating writer-acquaintance exploits him to create the novel we are reading.The counterpoint to these contemporary characters is a Neolithic tribe,whose alpha male Chmp is a hunter-gatherer and ancestor of José (possibly of Cécile as well). Chmp finds that his nomadic instincts and appreciation for art increasingly clash with matriarchal pressures that direct the tribe toward a more stationary, agricultural lifestyle. With a definite preference for the Playmobiloriented characters, Gran uses irony and dark humor to reflect on the mediocrity of society and the power plays that surviving within it require. Gender relationships, in which women vie for control out of the necessity of stability and protection, conflict with the male drive for freedom and sexual affirmation. The resulting society can only instill false hopes in its offspring through its inflexible educational system and the facile lure of technology. Gran also depicts an art world fallen prey to the commercialist ambitions of its participants, and questions the role of artistic creation in the modern world. Gran’s distressing portrayal of...