Invulnerable
A young woman locks herself in with her late husband’s body on the eve of his funeral. She’s relying on this last showdown to elucidate the mystery of his suicide, and wipe away every trace of sorrow and guilt. She even nurtures the irrational hope that she might emerge enriched and more invulnerable than ever.
Our heroine, it transpires, is a woman possessed of extraordinary ambition and a longing for power, and she has chosen the realms of politics in which to exercise them. She managed to secure the post of Principal private secretary to the Ministry for Ecology thanks to her audacity and intelligence, but has no intention of stopping there. Since her teens she has done everything in her power to achieve her dream: to become the first woman president of France. But her husband’s suicide might well compromise her plans.
Her life, hopes, fears, fantasies and her implacable view of society are soon laid bare for us. Along with her, we experience all the upheavals and heartbreak produced by this confrontation. Along with her, we die and we conquer.
Iris Wong was born in Toulon in 1977. She writes screenplays and works as an assistant director of films. After Héroïque, published by Stock in 2007, Invulnerable is her second novel.
Car notre héroïne est une femme habitée par une ambition et une volonté de puissance hors du commun, et elle a choisi le terrain de la politique pour les exercer. Chef de cabinet de la ministre de l’Écologie, elle est parvenue à conquérir ce poste grâce à son audace et à son intelligence mais n’a pas l’intention de s’arrêter là. Depuis son adolescence, elle met tout en œuvre pour atteindre un rêve : devenir la première femme présidente de la République française. Or le suicide de son mari pourrait bien compromettre ses plans.
Sa vie, ses espoirs, ses angoisses, ses fantasmes, sa vision implacable de la société n’auront bientôt plus aucun secret pour nous. Avec elle, nous traverserons tous les déchirements que cette confrontation va provoquer. Avec elle, nous mourrons et nous vaincrons.