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mmes pétris et que nous leur avons confié ils sont profonds des puits ils sont l asile de nos douleurs de nos blessures de nos pires folies de nos déraisons de nos voix les plus sombres les livres n ont pas d yeux ils ont des voix il arrive que ces voix sortent de leur bouche d ombre nous parlent oui et ça je l expérimentais sans cesse souvent les livres me parlent et parfois d une voix argentine d une légèreté enfantine comme exhalée d un caveau mais de tout cela je n ai rien pu dire j ai seulement répondu non les livres ne nous regardent pas et je répétais n arrivant plus à passer à autre chose j en étais ridicule c était impressionnant je répétais non les livres ne nous regardent pas tout en me sentant expédiée en pleine catastrophe ailleurs butée serrée bloquée dans mon blouson magique lequel avait sans doute pour moi d autres impénétrables desseins et ensuite je suis restée muette comme une attardée mentale jusqu à la fin p 19 ipad ibooks e edition in claudie hunzinger s 2014 prix medicis longlisted novel la langue des oiseaux the language of birds in english language that of literature and of life of nature and humanity plays a central role in the narrative it is the medium through which we express ourselves giving voice to those myriad emotions and thoughts that daily flow through out and over us language is also meditation through which we manage to filter our experiences leaving us with manageable impressions in la langue des oiseaux these elements particularly in regard to literature and the understanding of other cultures and languages are explored to great effect the plot is relatively simple a writer zsa zsa crushed by several literary rejections decides on one autumn day to flee paris with only a few books and other belongings she goes to live in a secluded wooded area a hermitage almost where she reflects on the literature of her life and her triumphs and failures so far yet zsa zsa is not completely cut off from civilization she has internet access and she stumbles across a japanese immigrant sayo who runs an online boutique of sorts selling boys clothes for women their exchanges spark a reaction from zsa zsa leading her to delve further into the language of birds that secret idiom through which so many mysteries withheld from more mundane tongues are at least partially revealed it is here in these musings on language and thought that hunzinger s narrative is at its strongest well read readers will recognize several writers who influence zsa zsa and presumably hunzinger since this does have some autobiographical elements if i understand this tale correctly of particular account is the american poet emily dickinson to whom zsa zsa refers several times over the course of the story there certainly are traces of her and other writers including those described above in the excerpted quote in the narrative particularly in the way zsa zsa views the surrounding nature and its denizens hunzinger however does not dwell over long on these reminisces zsa zsa is not a mouthpiece for literary appreciation instead these literary allusions serve to deepen the tale making it more than just a chance encounter along the road of solitude there is an universal quality to zsa zsa s meditations and her later friendship with sayo in their talks about language and meaning several comments are made that easily could take place between people that we all know like those rare mythological heroes and heroines who can understand the languages of birds and wildlife we too find ourselves learning new languages everyday in order to comprehend better the word around us hunzinger s prose is evocative as the above quote reveals it freely moves between allusion and direct discourse usually with a good balance between the two voices and shadows books possessing not eyes but instead voices the narrative structure by itself is not terribly inventive but the way that hunzinger describes zsa zsa and her worldview how she interacts with sayo those enrich the story greatly adding enough layers for there to be the sense of something profound unfolding yet not so much that the story feels bogged down by the weight of its own artifices la langue des oiseaux is a charming tale that manages to say more in less than 200 print pages than what most deep novels manage to express in 400 curious to see tomorrow if it ll make the prix medicis shortlist it certainly is a powerful novel that hopefully will be translated into english in the near future older entries archives archives select month october 2014 17 september 2014 34 august 2014 38 july 2014 33 june 2014 37 may 2014 35 april 2014 31 march 2014 34 february 2014 29 january 2014 34 december 2013 17 november 2013 10 october 2013 10 september 2013 14 august 2013 8 july 2013 18 june 2013 11 may 2013 18 april 2013 16 march 2013 11 february 2013 18 january 2013 31 december 2012 32 november 2012 60 october 2012 39 september 2012 34 august 2012 31 july 2012 16 june 2012 18 may 2012 14 april 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