A review by andrew61
Ladivine by Marie NDiaye
5.0
This was a remarkable read to which I may struggle to do justice in this brief review. The book explores many themes and as the final third moved into a more magical expression of ideas I put it down with my head spinning .
The books starts with an account of the relationship between Clarisse Riviere and her mother who she calls 'The Servant'. The mother is an African woman ,settled in France , working hard in various cleaning jobs , and living in rented one bedroom accommodation but determined to see her daughter succeed. The child Malinka notices how embarrassing her mother is to her as she progresses through her school life and eventually runs away at 16 , giving up education, finding a bar job and a flat as well as changing her name. Her mother finds her, moving to the town to which she has relocated (with a cringe worthy scene when The servant turns up in the bar where she works) but Clarisse still escapes again when she meets and quickly marries car salesman Richard Riviere. As the story of Clarisse progresses we learn that she can separate from her mother and exclude her from her life as wife and mother by visiting her once a month while telling her husband and daughter that she is an orphan.
Within this part we also see for the first time an underlying theme of people possibly transforming into animals (dogs) with Clarisse ( and later her daughter ) repeatedly seeing a dog following her and a curious scene where her in laws visit to see her new baby ,Ladivine, with a large hound in tow. Richard is afraid of his bullying father but Clarisse and the father in law have a strange connection when the huge dog is found on the baby's bed. I won't go on here but as Clarisse gets older Richard cannot cope with her emotional distance triggering a dramatic and shocking end to Clarisse/Malinka's tale.
The second half then allows us to follow Ladivine Berger ( an important distinction here in surname as we find out that there is a mirroring in the name ) who married to Marko, has two children, is living in Berlin and is at a distance from her father who now has a new wife and step children. In a rut with their holidays ( an interesting exchange ensues with Marko's parents in a bizarre letter) ladivine obtains the advice of her father for a country to visit and the family embark on a disastrous trip to a an unnamed African country where the reader is drawn into an increasingly magical account which includes dogs again , doppelgangers, an encounter with a local boy which is even stranger , and a visit to Richard's car salesmen friends in a forest home. As we move through the section the story becomes increasingly strange and dreamlike as we follow Ladivine's breakdown not knowing what is real or imagined.
This book is strange but compelling and I am still thinking about the characters. The portrayal of three generations of women , race , class and shame is so well drawn that I could feel the embarrassment of Clarisse while also conscious of her deep connection to her mother and the mother's love and need for daughter who rejects her. I understood how Clarisse is emotionally damaged which impacts on her daughter and her daughter's maturity as a wife and mother. The connections are sensitively drawn.
The book also explores women's relationship with men and there is a scene towards the end of Clarisse's tale where certain dynamics change which send a chill down the spine. The interrelationship between Richard and Clarisse , Richard and Ladivine , and Marko and his wife are also well drawn.
The book reflects on race in both the determination of Clarisse to escape her African heritage and skin while later touching on attitudes towards colonialism and a horrific visit to a museum with scenes of colonial massacres and a violent encounter between Marko and the boy Wellington.
This is , as I said at the outset a remarkable read and having spent some time now thinking back over the story I have elevated it from an initial 4* to 5*. While I do not expect it will appeal to everyone as it is not a straightforward plot, descends in magical expression, I think it a unique book which is well worth persevering with to a what is an ambiguous but interesting end.
The books starts with an account of the relationship between Clarisse Riviere and her mother who she calls 'The Servant'. The mother is an African woman ,settled in France , working hard in various cleaning jobs , and living in rented one bedroom accommodation but determined to see her daughter succeed. The child Malinka notices how embarrassing her mother is to her as she progresses through her school life and eventually runs away at 16 , giving up education, finding a bar job and a flat as well as changing her name. Her mother finds her, moving to the town to which she has relocated (with a cringe worthy scene when The servant turns up in the bar where she works) but Clarisse still escapes again when she meets and quickly marries car salesman Richard Riviere. As the story of Clarisse progresses we learn that she can separate from her mother and exclude her from her life as wife and mother by visiting her once a month while telling her husband and daughter that she is an orphan.
Within this part we also see for the first time an underlying theme of people possibly transforming into animals (dogs) with Clarisse ( and later her daughter ) repeatedly seeing a dog following her and a curious scene where her in laws visit to see her new baby ,Ladivine, with a large hound in tow. Richard is afraid of his bullying father but Clarisse and the father in law have a strange connection when the huge dog is found on the baby's bed. I won't go on here but as Clarisse gets older Richard cannot cope with her emotional distance triggering a dramatic and shocking end to Clarisse/Malinka's tale.
The second half then allows us to follow Ladivine Berger ( an important distinction here in surname as we find out that there is a mirroring in the name ) who married to Marko, has two children, is living in Berlin and is at a distance from her father who now has a new wife and step children. In a rut with their holidays ( an interesting exchange ensues with Marko's parents in a bizarre letter) ladivine obtains the advice of her father for a country to visit and the family embark on a disastrous trip to a an unnamed African country where the reader is drawn into an increasingly magical account which includes dogs again , doppelgangers, an encounter with a local boy which is even stranger , and a visit to Richard's car salesmen friends in a forest home. As we move through the section the story becomes increasingly strange and dreamlike as we follow Ladivine's breakdown not knowing what is real or imagined.
This book is strange but compelling and I am still thinking about the characters. The portrayal of three generations of women , race , class and shame is so well drawn that I could feel the embarrassment of Clarisse while also conscious of her deep connection to her mother and the mother's love and need for daughter who rejects her. I understood how Clarisse is emotionally damaged which impacts on her daughter and her daughter's maturity as a wife and mother. The connections are sensitively drawn.
The book also explores women's relationship with men and there is a scene towards the end of Clarisse's tale where certain dynamics change which send a chill down the spine. The interrelationship between Richard and Clarisse , Richard and Ladivine , and Marko and his wife are also well drawn.
The book reflects on race in both the determination of Clarisse to escape her African heritage and skin while later touching on attitudes towards colonialism and a horrific visit to a museum with scenes of colonial massacres and a violent encounter between Marko and the boy Wellington.
This is , as I said at the outset a remarkable read and having spent some time now thinking back over the story I have elevated it from an initial 4* to 5*. While I do not expect it will appeal to everyone as it is not a straightforward plot, descends in magical expression, I think it a unique book which is well worth persevering with to a what is an ambiguous but interesting end.