The French title of Men plays on a quote by Marguerite Duras- 'We have to love men a lot. A lot, a lot. Love them a lot in order to love them. Otherwise it's impossible, we couldn't bear them.' With her characteristic intensity, edginess and humour, Marie Darrieussecq explores female desire, what it means to be a woman. Solange was a provincial teenager in All the Way; now in her thirties, she's not a great mother, is a mediocre actress, but in Hollywood she falls for a charismatic actor, Kouhouesso, who wants to direct a movie of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness-in Africa. He's black; she's white-what's the difference when it comes to love, she wonders? Solange follows her man to Africa, determined to play a main role in both his film and his affections. But nothing goes to plan in this brilliantly droll examination of romance, movie-making and clichUs about race relations. After all, there's no guarantee you'll be loved by the one you love. Personal and political, passionate and engaged, Men is a novel that will make you see things differently.
Author Biography
Marie Darrieussecq was born in 1969 in Bayonne, France. Her debut novel, Pig Tales, was published in 34 countries and became the most popular first novel in France since the 1950s. A Brief Stay with the Living and White have also been translated into English.
