Tous les rêves de ma vie by Philippe Amar (review)

showed great diversity from their beginnings, and included both Maréchalistes and anti-Semites.An interesting chapter investigates the class, religious, and demographic origins of the members of the armée des ombres. The younger generation was very active; while the instigation of the S.T.O. (Service du travail obligatoire) forced the réfractaires into a clandestine existence, only about a quarter of them chose to join the resistance (214). The working class was evidently engaged due to the influence of the Communist Party, but Wieviorka demonstrates that all social classes were represented. While women were proportionally under-represented, their participation was “une entrée significative des filles de Marianne dans l’arène civique”(430). The movement’s military capabilities were quite limited until the summer of 1944, when it helped in the liberation of certain areas of France, particularly in Brittany, Paris, Lille, Marseille, Limoges,and Thiers (401).Wieviorka’s“demythologizing”of the Résistance is tempered by his firm insistence in his conclusion that one should judge not only what the Resistance actually accomplished, but also the sacrifice and bravery of those who were tortured or executed. Many died at the Mont-Valérien, at Buchenwald, or in Gestapo jails, and the courage of leaders such as Claude Bourdet, Jean Moulin, or Pierre Brossolette remains exemplary (500). Well-written, with extensive notes and suggestions for further reading, Wieviorka’s text makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the Résistance and of the complexity of the period. Davidson College (NC) Homer B. Sutton Creative Works edited by Nathalie Degroult Amar, Philippe. Tous les rêves de ma vie. Paris: Flammarion, 2013. ISBN 978-2-08129496 -7. Pp. 407. 19,90 a. Maybe close attention should be paid to the quote on the front cover: “Et si un peu d’amnésie pouvait changer la vie?” This note might alert us to the tone to come and set us up to see the frivolity of the main character. Upon opening the book, however, we find a different message. The one-page prologue pulls the reader into the sphere of an as-yet unidentified woman who is suffering:“Je respire, je subis, mais ne vis pas. Je ne rêve plus, je ne suis plus programmée pour depuis trop longtemps”(7). Unfortunately, Tous les rêves de ma vie is a tangled jumble of these two approaches to serious personal crises. What we have is a perky self-centered first-person narrator surrounded by a chorus of superficial characters trying to work their way through the confusion of bourgeois life in Paris. It is funny at first, and there are moments throughout the novel where we recall both the tone set by the front cover and the more serious questions posed in the prologue, but in the long run the characters just cannot 246 FRENCH REVIEW 87.4 Reviews 247 keep our attention well enough for us to care very much. Sandra, the protagonist, is hit by the side mirror of a Paris bus, is knocked out cold, and then, as she comes out of her coma, decides to fake amnesia. Dissatisfied with her lovely apartment in Paris, her two children, and her handsome husband (who is having an affair), Sandra wants to start over. First, she changes her name to Léa, because she likes the name and because the change will irritate her husband. Once out of the hospital she has to make an enormous effort to keep from getting caught remembering people and places. She must constantly negotiate situations so she does not appear to be doing everyday things out of habit and she has to accept the outright lies of her entourage. She sees through the falsehoods, of course, but cannot say a thing. She leaves husband, home, and job and sets off in search of adventure, not going too far, however, from her comfort zone. Why give up, after all, a lifestyle that includes an apartment in Paris (trading Saint-Germain for Montmartre),handsome men,a private gym,and shopping? “Être amnésique, c’est aussi pouvoir changer de traiteur. Ras le bol de Lenôtre!”(115). Characteristic of Amar’s...