Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Das Ende von Eddy

A gripping exploration of life in poverty on the French countryside, as well as the views and values of the people living in it, through the eyes of a young gay boy, desperate to fit in.

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haunted_klaus's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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canb's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Mitigée. Plutôt déçue même. J’en attendais beaucoup, au vu des critiques du livre qui le trouvent « poignant » et « dur mais nécessaire ». Mais je pense que ce qui caractérise le mieux mon avis c’est que j’ai plus d’empathie pour le père que pour Eddy.

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ifigeneiatsa's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

My third book from this author and I think it's my favourite. In this one he talks about his childhood and how he decided to leave his village behind. It's truly shocking at moments. I never realized some areas of France are so poor and closed minded. What I really like about his books is that he doesn't present himself as the victim or as the 'different' one. He shows how growing up in a racist and homophobic environment makes one internalize the same behaviours. How violence spreads over decades and its effects are still present. The way he comments on class differences was also fascinating to read. You can see it as it is visualize through the different languages used. The language of the village (past) and his educated language (now).

Quote: "But suffering is all-consuming, it somehow gets rid of anything that doesn't fit into its system"

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jenggala's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

3.75

Although she is an angry woman, she is not one who knows what to do with the hatred that never leaves her. She rails when alone in front of the TV or with other mothers outside the school.

oh, this takes forever to finish. violence pervades every inch of it and indeed, this is a literature of violence. barely it offers any salve to every punch it pulls. the portrayal of how all-encompassing violence is in lower-class life is something i find true to life and relatable even in indonesia.

i can see the merit of it, but i don't think this is something i would do usually.

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iirissr's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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kananineko's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

This book reminded me why I love memoirs. It’s a very important and impactful story, but it’s also very gross and graphic (definitely look into trigger warnings if you think you might need them). But it has to be. It was very educational about a place/way of life that I’m not very familiar with (which is why I love memoirs). My only critique is that I wished we got more at the end after he *kinda spoiler, maybe?* left/went to school. I wanted to see him happy (although, it’s true that that wasn’t the point of the book). Also, I understand that this is about the author’s real life so of course he gets to choose which parts of his life he wants to keep private.

Overall, highly recommend.

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cecereads__'s review against another edition

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4.0

This is autobiographical fiction. Set in France.
There were parts that were hard to read as the reality of class and family dysfunction sets the scene for narrow-mindedness and being more concerned with being “normal” than being curious about and loving your child. It feels like there’s a long way to go for self-acceptance along with the heartbreaking realisation that acceptance from the family (due to societal expectations/perceived standards) will not happen. It scratches the surface of class issues and lack of resources, i.e. opportunities and education, to show and embrace inclusivity. It’s well worth a read imo.

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