Limonov

Another gift from my father-in-law, who has been teasing me for quite some time. The guy on the cover looks good, but he also has a Russian name, and I've never read a Russian novel that could be read in one sitting with a smile on my face, let's say. And these days,I tell myself that my father-in-law overestimates me. But this time he got it right.

Limonov's life is fascinating. Enough so that a Frenchman decided to write his biography, just for fun. A tough guy (or rather a small one, considering his size) who dreamed of smashing everything, of being famous, in short, of throwing a lot of shit. He spent his life pursuing his ambitions. You can't say he succeeded, it's never that simple. But what does it matter anyway.

From his life, he extracted all the juice. He started out as a thug, he became a trendy writer. He dreamed of smashing everything, he was imprisoned for, among other things, conspiring against the state. He wanted to be rich while despising wealth, he became a valet to an American billionaire. In terms of women (and men), he has seen it all. What is certain is that he did not leave anyone indifferent.

And through such a personal life, we learn about communism and its bad side. A fabulous piece of history that I knew theoretically, but that I had not realized. Carrère has succeeded in speaking of it as a living, teeming thing: the human race in all its splendor.

And his pen; beautiful. Perfection, I humbly say. Beautiful without being snobbish. Simple and rich at the same time. Honest, fair, clear. But funny too, and it stirred me.

This is not a book that can be read in one sitting. It took me over a month to read it. But every time I got into it, I was charmed, and I wondered why I hadn't done it sooner. But at the same time, the pleasure would not have lasted as much.

Limonov

Emmanuel Carrère

16,93 $