vilmawrfoguheil's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.25

This is the third book af Eduard Louis and my third book of his that i have read. Once agrecomendmazing book! Raw, direct and extreamly true. I absolutly adore the authors writing and story telling. This book is not a single story but an over view of Eduard fathers fathers life, his relationship with his father and the reason for his fathersnd to an extent the "end" of his life.  No mater your relationship with your own father, you can feel for Eduard, his father and your younger selfe that mabye did have similar dificultise but also similar family dinamics. I also recomend readnig all of Eduard Louis books in french or in your naivite language to make the story more personal. 

This book is for you if you like Eduard Louis previous works, like to read emotional biographys and are intresetd in social isusse/politics. I will recomend this book to all my friends!

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dafni's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0


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notyourvegetable's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0


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kathmulderry's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Really interesting read, challenging for sure to see the violence of the authors parents, primarily his father, depicted in such detail. Really makes you think about familial relationships and love and how deep that might go. I also didn’t (still don’t) know much about classism within France. Makes you think about how it can not only effect someone but shape who they are and become, how much works against the lower class from the very start of their lives, even deeper than the struggle that most people know and assume. How politicians aren’t held accountable for the direct pain and suffering they cause.  

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notmyendday's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

A really short but insightful book. Read it in one sitting!

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james1star's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This is a short and impactful non-chronological memoir where the Louis is writing to his dying father. He recounts different memories from his childhood that provide an insight into their father-son relationship, family life and how this had impacted himself. From these accounts, the author puts forward a rather love/hate outlook towards his father and how neither attitude seems the right one. Louis had a somewhat hard childhood with a distant father (who we learn grew up with an abusive alcoholic father) who likes to drink, it’s preferable when he’s not there and teaches a ‘that’s life’ approach. He also had to deal with homophobic rhetorics presented from both parents poking fun at his ‘girlyness’ and how other people see him as a ‘fa***t’. But also there is tenderness in how his father defends his son in some aspects, they have outings and other things. It’s nuanced for sure. There is also more but I don’t want to explain too much. 

If you haven’t taken note yet but the title is ‘Who Killed My Father’ with no ‘?‘ because it’s a statement where Louis spills the truth on who in power was responsible for causing further strain on his father and many others like him. He talks of policies put into legislation decreasing support offered to the poor and vulnerable, forcing people back into work despite inabilities and others, all the while reducing tax on the rich. So yes, it’s an awakening to the detrimental effects of these unfair politics and a look at contemporary French society and class. 

I did find this book quite impactful and emotional, the writing is good and understandable. It’s important to share these stories and facts. I do wish it was a bit longer and maybe gave more insight into Louis’s exploration of his sexuality but overall it was a decent and recommended read. 

Some impactful quotes: 

‘You belong to the category of humans whom politics has doomed to an early death.’ 

‘I reconstruct the image as best I can, but reality has the quality of dreams: the harder I try to grasp it, the more it slips away.’ 

‘When I look back on the past and our life together, what I remember most is what I didn’t tell you. My memories are of what didn’t take place.’

‘Is it normal to be ashamed of loving?’

‘For the ruling class, in general, politics is a question of aesthetics: a way of seeing themselves, of seeing the world, if constructing a personality. For us it was life or death.’

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theirgracegrace's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

4.25

Après avoir lu En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule, je croyais savoir tout d'Édouard Louis. Mais Qui a tué mon père sert bien comme accompaniment à ce livre, ainsi qu'un bon livre tout seul. Décrivant le rapprochement échoué entre Louis et son père, Qui a tué mon père n'est pas une question. Louis accuse le gouvernement de la France et l'établissement libéral d'avoir forcé son père à bosser constamment, même après sa blessure. Il accuse également les croyances de la masculinité toxique qui influent sur l'homophobie et le classisme vécus par Louis pendant son enfance. Avec beaucoup de force, Louis met l'accent sur la violence ; non la violence avec des poings, mais celle véhiculée par les lois et les malentendus des politiques.

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thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0


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