PDF Cosmétique De L'Ennemi French Edition Amelie Nothomb 9782226126573 Books

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Product details Paperback 140 pages Publisher Albin Michel (October 1, 2001) Language French ISBN-10 2226126570

Cosmétique De L'Ennemi French Edition Amelie Nothomb 9782226126573 Books Reviews

• A Malian friend of mine recommended Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb's book, Cosmétique de l'ennemi. Tonight, on the metro ride home, I finished it. (My first adult novel in French!) What a thriller! The book opens with Jérôme Angust's flight being delayed, and a very annoying Dutch man -- one Textor Texel -- sits down next to him and won't stop pestering him. Textor starts to tell Jérôme about his troubled childhood, his realization that he had a monster within him, and slowly, every so slowly (but perfectly), we realize that not all is as it seems. Almost the entire book is dialogue between the two men as they sit in the airport. There is little movement and almost no other characters. Yet Nothomb managed to engage me completely and consistently.
  
  Here is one of my favorite lines "Qu'est-ce qui coule dans vos veines? De la tisane?" (What runs through your veins? Herbal tea?)
  
  This is a fabulous thriller. I was surprised again and again. (There seems to be no widely available English translation.)
  
  Here are a few other non-spoiler lines I noted
  * On croyait vivre avec un tyran bienveillant au-dessus de sa tête, on se rend compte qu'on vit sous la coupe d'un tyran malveillant qui est longé dans son ventre.
  * L'ennemi est celui qui, de l'intérieur, détruit ce qui en vaut la peine.
  * Vous ne savez pas ce que c'est, d'avoir si soif et de ne pas avoir le drot de boire, quand l'eau est sous vos yeux, belle, salvatrice, à portée de vos lèvres.
  * Il me semble que, quand on aime son enfant, on ne se suicide pas.
  * Le diable a réponse a tout.