Change by Edouard Louis

"What I'm writing shouldn't be seen as a story of the birth of a writer but as the birth of freedom, of being uprooted at all costs from a hated past." - Edouard Louis

Though it began with a sordid scene I would have preferred not to witness - which the author returns to later in the book with more context - this autobiographical novel quickly became engaging reading. It is about an extreme makeover - not as much in the physical sense - though there is a little bit of that - as in transforming the author's entire persona through enormous, unrelenting effort as he grows into young adulthood. 

This is not a story of someone maturing by way of the usual developmental milestones of life. Edouard Louis (the character shares the name of the author) spent his early years in an impoverished, intellectually empty, emotionally abusive, alcohol-soaked environment in a rural French village steeped in xenophobia and homophobia, the latter of which was a daily source of cruelty to him. He didn't learn even the most basic table manners, and sometimes had to beg for food for the family and to ask officials at his public school to reduce incidental fees because his parents were too embarrassed to do these things when they couldn't pay for things. The homophobic hostility he experienced from family, schoolmates and strangers, while deeply cutting, was also what propelled him to a better life. He becomes the only person in his family to be educated beyond primary school.

In his early twenties, Edouard found that the more educated he became, the more he realized he didn't know - and yearned to know. He couldn't overcome a sense that he had to continually do more to catch up to what others knew. So he read constantly - all the great writers and all the books recommended by friends - finishing a new book about every other day. 

He is tested by the world again and again, sometimes in ways that leave him feeling humiliated. Those sometimes humbling tests and their accompanying setbacks made him increasingly determined to elevate his life and in doing so, to once and for all sever himself from the hostile, oppressive home town milieu that he often feared would reclaim him and drag him back down. How he finally resolved this dilemma for himself comes at the end of the book.

I found it fascinating to accompany Edouard Louis and witness his phenomenal transformation from poorly educated, uncultured working class boy to Paris sophisticate mingling with royalty at that city's most exclusive dinner parties, and ultimately to globally recognized author whose work has been translated into several languages. He succeeded due to dogged determination to continually educate and refine himself, and he did so in a remarkably short time. All the while his parents rejected him and the direction his life was taking him. 

What resonated most with me and kept me reading was Edouard's forthright manner both in writing his story and in his interactions with everyone he met during his ascendancy. He has a knack for attracting people and forging friendships with sympathetic, caring, accomplished and wealthy people who help mentor him along the way and want him to succeed. There is some sexual exploitation in a few of these relationships but in most of them there is encouragement, generosity and solid friendship. This is undoubtedly due to Edouard's openness about his embarrassing upbringing without any self pity or intent to manipulate others. He's a likeable human being whose transparency in relationships helps propel him forward while he works like hell to achieve a life makeover.       

This is one extreme makeover, and  it was very satisfying to see this man overcome such a dead-end, mean start in life. For this gay writer, it truly did get better. His book tells how he made that happen. 

Reviewed by Marianne W