Véronique Poulain
Véronique Poulain est l’auteur chez Stock d’un récit très remarqué, Les mots qu’on ne me dit pas, sur son enfance et son adolescence entre deux parents sourds. Célibataire longue...
LES MOTS QU ON NE ME DIT PAS
Auteur
Parution :
20/08/2014
Collection :
La Bleue
WHAT THEY ARE NOT SAYING
Rights sold to China (Thinkingdom), Denmark (Arvids), Germany (Ullstein), Italy (Corbaccio), Spain (Nube de Tinta/Penguin Random House) and Taiwan (Aquarius)
Her parents are deaf mutes. She isn’t. She can speak and hear, very well. Too well sometimes. She hears everything, all the noise they make. Because, contrary to popular belief, deaf people do make noises. Noises when they drink and eat and sign. “Wet” noises, disturbing intimate noises. And then there are their funny voices, their grunts and groans.
As a little girl she was proud of her parents, parading their differentness like a badge of honour. With her teenage years came shame and fantasies of a “normal” family.
In 144 pages of razor-sharp writing, Véronique Poulain introduces us to the world of the deaf. Within the family, among friends, in the car, at the supermarket, on holiday, at a dance, at school, in the privacy of the bathroom, or bedroom… Sometimes amazed, often amused, we discover another language and another culture in which facial expressions and body language are full of imagery and devoid of taboos, and, rather than trying to replace our means of communication, they enrich and enliven it. Véronique Poulain’s funny and unexpected narrative is the result of this dual culture. Seeing her face light up gives a clue to the energy bundled into these pages.
Véronique Poulain lives in Paris and works in performing arts. She was stand up comedian Guy Bedos’s personal assistant for fifteen years. What They’re Not Saying is her first book.
Rights sold to China (Thinkingdom), Denmark (Arvids), Germany (Ullstein), Italy (Corbaccio), Spain (Nube de Tinta/Penguin Random House) and Taiwan (Aquarius)
Her parents are deaf mutes. She isn’t. She can speak and hear, very well. Too well sometimes. She hears everything, all the noise they make. Because, contrary to popular belief, deaf people do make noises. Noises when they drink and eat and sign. “Wet” noises, disturbing intimate noises. And then there are their funny voices, their grunts and groans.
As a little girl she was proud of her parents, parading their differentness like a badge of honour. With her teenage years came shame and fantasies of a “normal” family.
In 144 pages of razor-sharp writing, Véronique Poulain introduces us to the world of the deaf. Within the family, among friends, in the car, at the supermarket, on holiday, at a dance, at school, in the privacy of the bathroom, or bedroom… Sometimes amazed, often amused, we discover another language and another culture in which facial expressions and body language are full of imagery and devoid of taboos, and, rather than trying to replace our means of communication, they enrich and enliven it. Véronique Poulain’s funny and unexpected narrative is the result of this dual culture. Seeing her face light up gives a clue to the energy bundled into these pages.
Véronique Poulain lives in Paris and works in performing arts. She was stand up comedian Guy Bedos’s personal assistant for fifteen years. What They’re Not Saying is her first book.
« “ Salut, bande d’enculés ! ”
C’est comme ça que je salue mes parents quand je rentre à la maison.
Mes copains me croient jamais quand je leur dis qu’ils sont sourds.
Je vais leur prouver que je dis vrai.
“ Salut, bande d’enculés ! ” Et ma mère vient m’embrasser tendrement. »
C’est comme ça que je salue mes parents quand je rentre à la maison.
Mes copains me croient jamais quand je leur dis qu’ils sont sourds.
Je vais leur prouver que je dis vrai.
“ Salut, bande d’enculés ! ” Et ma mère vient m’embrasser tendrement. »
Sans tabou, avec un humour corrosif, elle raconte.
Son père, sourd-muet.
Sa mère, sourde-muette.
L’oncle Guy, sourd lui aussi, comme un pot.
Le quotidien.
Les sorties.
Les vacances.
Le sexe.
D’un écartèlement entre deux mondes, elle fait une richesse. De ce qui aurait pu être un drame, une comédie.
D’une famille différente, un livre pas comme les autres.
144 pages
Format :
135 x 215 mm
EAN :
9782234078000
Prix :
19.00 €
