Femmes du crépuscule by Evelyne Accad (review)

of mediation that can be found in earlier works by Keith Negus, Simon Frith or Antoine Hennion. In her second section, building a bridge between the rock alternatif of the 1980s and musical genres that emerged more recently, Lebrun shifts her focus to three contemporary variations of French “protest” music: chanson néo-réaliste, rock métis and the anti-globalization sounds of Manu Chao. All three topics are discussed throughout three separate chapters where, again, the notion of authenticity takes central stage, as Lebrun points out contradictions in the artists’ and the critics’ discourses on “déstabilisation,” “multiculturalisme” and “métissage.” A particularly sharp analysis of the trajectory of the Toulouse band Zebda, supplements an earlier work by Daniel Marx–Scouras. Lebrun sheds a different light on the twisted effects of extended popularity for artists identified as “alternative,” and offers a new perspective on the double consciousness of French artists of Maghrebi origins who are negotiating identities within the French music industry . This second section, although thorough and astute, does tend to display, here and there, an excessive use of categorizing by musical genres, at times giving the theoretical reflection a slight sense of artificiality. However, Lebrun is aware of the limitations of genre labeling and does try to focus on particular bands and artists, paying much attention to their individualities. The third section, “Participation, Audiences and Festivals,” includes the book’s most original contribution in the form of extensive fieldwork conducted at music festivals and rock concerts, where the author engages in conversational interviews with people in attendance. As she points out at the beginning of the section, little focus has been placed, so far, on audiences in French popular music studies. Referring in turns to De Certeau’s theory on transgressive “tactics,” to Bakhtin’s “carnivalesque,” or Foucault’s “heterotopias” as well as to recent works in music sociology, Lebrun demonstrates that Bourdieu’s “sociology of taste” still constitutes an extraordinarily relevant theoretical framework when it comes to the study of contemporary popular music. Indeed, the notion of “distinction” is prevalent in her observations of the shared features and particularities found within the concertgoers’ self-described practices and discourses. Again, authenticity, alternative identities, and resistance to mass culture are key notions in the comments offered by the various interviewees, mirroring the discussion of music production offered in the first part of the book. Barbara Lebrun’s volume is an impressive work that offers a broad exploration of the cultural significance of popular music in France as well as a careful and profound reflection on possible ways to approach it. University of New Orleans (LA) Olivier Bourderionnet Creative Works edited by Nathalie Degroult ACCAD, EVELYNE. Femmes du crépuscule. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2008. ISBN 978-2-29606125 -5. Pp. 115. 12 a. La problématique évoquée dans Femmes du crépuscule est importante non seulement dans le monde arabe mais dans l’ensemble de la planète où la condition 406 FRENCH REVIEW 84.2 féminine reste un sujet d’actualité. Ce recueil propose dix nouvelles, liées entre elles par l’expression de la souffrance, des frayeurs, des désirs bafoués et des sentiments étouffés dans un monde sombre et cruel, dominé par un pouvoir masculin autoritaire et abusif. Dix histoires de femmes qui se déroulent dans différents lieux, de Beyrouth à l’Indiana, en passant par Francfort et Paris. Ecrits entre 1970 et 1980, au lendemain de mai 68, où, dans un bonheur collectif, les rêves allaient “se réaliser, ceux de la révolution sociale ou ceux de la révolution libertaire” (91), ces textes ont été repris pour lancer un cri lancinant de colère et pour rappeler que les obstacles dressés devant les femmes renforcent l’image omniprésente d’une humanité plongée dans le chaos et la sauvagerie. L’écriture, conjuguée à des dessins percutants en noir et blanc de Jay Zerbe, décrit des actes de violence, d’intolérance et d’abus de pouvoir à l’égard de diverses figures féminines appartenant à la fois au monde oriental et occidental, dans une amère réalité spatio-temporelle de notre contemporanéit...