2023-11-27 13:41:54
We will go through storms
By Anne-Laure Bondoux
Gallimard youth, 496 p., €19.50
From 14 years old
In the Balaguère family, whose surname sounds like a slogan, all the men have plant names: Laburnum, Hornbeam, Aloe, Olivier, Willow… A very natural tradition for a lineage rooted in the land of Morvan where the family farm, les Chaumes, has been established for more than a century. But it is not only this attachment to the land, to this powerful nature, which is passed down from generation to generation, there is also the violence which, like an insidious evil, always ends up catching up with husbands and fathers.
Entire generations condemned to silence
Where is she from ? Why does it persist? To understand it, the narrator of the book goes back in time to 1914, along a genealogical branch battered by the upheavals of History. Author of The dawn will be magnificent (Friday Prize 2017), Anne-Laure Bondoux has been thinking, for several books already, about the way in which “the family story and its gray areas shape us, lead us to make more or less conscious choices in life”. This time she drew from her own family history the material for this novel which is both very personal and carried by a vibrant romantic breath.
From one era to another, We will go through storms takes a close look at father-son relationships, often defective bonds, damaged by brutality and a lack of communication. The fluid writing interweaves small and large stories. “The conflicts of the 20th century, from the world wars to Algeria, left wounds so deep that there were no words. Generations have been condemned to a sort of silence, even shame”notes Anne-Laure Bondoux, who became a novelist for “to unblock the throats of those who could not speak”.
“The crushing codes of patriarchy”
In addition to the weight of tragic events and dark secrets, the men of the Balaguère family carry the burden of injunctions that exceed them, torn between their deep aspirations and what is expected of them: to be a hero in war, a good sire, a successor for the farm… Through her book, Anne-Laure Bondoux addresses “to men, young or older, an invitation to reflect on their own difficulties in the face of the crushing codes of patriarchy, at work for so many years”.
For those who are put off by the 500 pages, she has even designed musical readings, combining extracts from the text and songs that she performs with her guitarist companion. An original experience to discover at the Children’s Book and Press Fair (1).
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