Les villes assassines by Alfred Alexandre (review)

discipline often outweighed doctrinal preoccupations, and provoked conflicts with the monarchy. Marriage issues, reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, and the role of secular clergy as opposed to religious orders achieved paramount importance. French foreign policies also blurred the religious sphere. The marriage of the Catholic Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henri IV, to the Protestant Charles I of England forged a brief temporary alliance. Richelieu’s hostility to the Catholic Hapsburgs in Spain and Austria evoked strong opposition from many dévots. During all of these conflicts, the papacy played a changing role, as national interests began to outweigh religious concerns, especially with the evolution of French Gallicanism. The year 1629 marked a watershed on the French scene. It witnessed the death of Bérulle, increasingly at odds with Richelieu and religious orders, notably Carmelite nuns, and with the Jesuits. At this point, Richelieu’s checkered career seemed secure as a de facto minister of Louis XIII. This period also witnessed the rise of Jansenism. Saint-Cyran, bishop of Poitiers, was according to Wright, a central and destructive figure in the movement. Along with him, Jansenius, bishop of Ypres, Antoine Arnauld, future leader and author of the controversial De la fréquente communion (1643), and Mère Angélique Arnauld, superior of Port-Royal, gradually came into conflict with the Jesuits and with Richelieu. Although earlier documents suggest collaboration, these disputes eventually provoked “mutually exclusive interpretations” of the original dévot intentions (183). The criticism of French foreign policy also complicated the issue, and led to more overt Gallicanism. While the author contends that one cannot automatically deduce a link between these divisions and the eventual secularization of France, he does show a move in that direction. These tensions, he maintained , could hardly be helpful to French Catholicism, and the French Revolution later intensified their impact. Wright has used archival sources abundantly, including the Vatican Library, Jesuit records, and la Bibliothèque de Port-Royal. Thus a complex narrative, which can obscure interpretation, sometimes results. Many lesser-known personalities of seventeenth-century France appear, some loosely identified. Wright’s analysis is largely political and ecclesiastical, with little reference to social history or spirituality . He also notes the role of religious women as influential but less public. While a development of this aspect might be beyond the scope of the volume, it is significant enough to merit further consideration. However, one cannot but admire the meticulous research and profound scholarship of this compact volume. Chestnut Hill College (PA) Mary Helen Kashuba Creative Works edited by Nathalie Degroult ALEXANDRE, ALFRED. Les villes assassines. Paris: Écriture, 2011. ISBN 978-2-35905-0134 . Pp. 135. 15,95 a. Après Bord de canal (2005) et La nuit caribéenne (2007), Les villes assassines compl ète la trilogie foyalaise d’Alfred Alexandre. Dans ce récit il nous fait voir, entendre , respirer l’envers du décor: le quartier Sainte-Thérèse de Fort-de-France 1188 FRENCH REVIEW 85.6 où Évane vient tous les soirs voir Winona danser au fond d’une impasse nommée rue Sans-Retour. C’est un tableau des plus sombres que l’auteur nous présente: les dealers, les souteneurs, les junkies, les maquerelles et les danseuses qui se tortillent sous l’œil allumé de Slack, le “patron” du quartier qui “punissait [...] à coups de lame de coutelas” (40). La coke, les cocktails de rhum et d’essence, l’abrutissement et la honte, c’est le quotidien de Winona, dix-sept ans, la belle “à délirer” avec sa bouche “rose et rouge” (21). Vénaton garde l’entrée de l’impasse et Slack fait ce qu’il veut sur son territoire, “et tout le monde acceptait [...] même les babylones, [...] sans lui, jamais les marchandises en stockage n’auraient pu dormir intactes, sur le port” (40). Les trois parties du roman s’articulent comme la chronique d’une mort annonc ée. La première, avec une brutale précision, dresse la scène de la tragédie à venir. Rien de bon ne peut sortir de ces rues sans issues, de ces relations inhumaines et violentes. Abandonnée par sa mère, captive du regard...