Books: studying on my travels – Lie with Me by Philippe Besson – In-Common

By Laura MaCarthy

I take a airplane to Bergerac in July, the temperature already reaching 26 levels by our 10am arrival in France. Once previous the airport and enterprise parks on the outskirts, the city itself seems to me as a well-preserved pressed flower between the pages of a e book.

Bergerac wears her historical past on her sleeve.

Half-timbered, shuttered buildings line the cobbled streets, so historical that they appear to lean, threatening to topple over – exhausted, however not in a depressing approach, extra like a beloved grandparent after a full day caring for the grandchildren.

On the airplane over right here, I had began to learn Lie with Me by Philippe Besson, translated from the unique French by Molly Ringwald. 

I’m a powerful advocate for what I name “mood reading”, through which you learn books that set the tone to your experiences.

In summer season, for instance, I would learn in regards to the mice of Redwall throughout their Summer of the Late Rose. In autumn, the darkish, Gothic atmospheres in Dracula or Frankenstein might enchantment.

Before my go to to France, I wished to discover a e book set in France, written by a French writer, even higher if I might discover one thing in the identical space I’d be visiting. 

portion of Lie with Me takes place in 1984, within the rural French city of Barbezieux. This little commune is just not so removed from Bergerac, nor the opposite two locations I deliberate to go to, Saint Emilion and Bordeaux. Perfect. In truth, within the second half of the novel, we start within the metropolis of Bordeaux.

Lie with Me is an autobiographical novel, through which Besson remembers his old flame, Thomas Andrieu. Due to the stigma of the time, Thomas wants their affair to stay a secret. Their romance unfolds in unseen moments, hidden in gear sheds at college or in Philippe’s bed room when his mother and father are away. Besson captures his teenage frustration, longing, and love for Andrieu in transferring element, mixing his present, wiser, reflective perspective with that of his youthful self.

There is a tragic sense that this can not final, nevertheless, as Andrieu appears fated to remain within the rural neighborhood while Besson is destined to grow to be a author, travelling the world. Thomas seems resigned to the truth that he won’t make his escape from the closet, the farm, or Barbezieux. It is inevitable. 

Many years cross earlier than Besson hears something of Andrieu once more. We are in Bordeaux at this level of the narrative. Having walked the town myself, I’m enthralled by the main points he shares of a Bordeaux pre-UNESCO. I see an image excellent collage of Gothic, Neo-classical, and Modernist buildings, all cleaned and maintained to radiance (in a UNESCO web site, you get fined if you don’t maintain properties to such a regular!). Meanwhile, Besson references the barbed wire and dirt of an earlier time, within the metropolis as he first knew it, earlier than highlighting the distinction after 2007. This is the enjoyment of selecting a e book which compliments your travels. You see a fuller, extra fleshed-out model of the world – one thing you may not have seen your self.

In Bordeaux, an opportunity occurring with Thomas’ son results in the occasions which happen within the latter half of the novel. What transpires is sufficient to convey tears. It is heartbreaking and highly effective, and displays the tragedy of operating out of your true nature. I’m crying, wracking sobs, by the ultimate web page.

Despite my tears, or perhaps due to them, I like to recommend Lie with Me. It is a brief novella that you may get by means of in a night should you wished to. More than this, it’s a snapshot of Southwestern France, of youthful craving, and the contrasting experiences of homosexual males. And, should you’re going to France any time quickly, it’s a should learn.