A review by janey
History of Violence by Édouard Louis

2.0

A novelized version of a true story, if I understand this correctly. He is listening to his sister recite, in great detail, the story that he tells us he has compulsively told everyone for almost a year. He and his sister have a difficult relationship, neither likes the other much if at all, but I was particularly impressed with her attention to detail -- whether this part of the story is true or whether it was simply the way he told his story to the reader, I think he doesn't give her sufficient credit for attending so closely to what he told her that she could repeat it almost word for word.

However, told from this point of view, even with commentary and occasional direct storytelling, serves only to distance the reader that much more from his experience and prevents us from understanding fully what point he is trying to make.