Hilde Keteleer Livres

Martin raconte à la fille de son meilleur ami, mort depuis longtemps, ce que fut leur jeunesse à la fin des années 60, une époque où l'on croyait dur comme fer à la Révolution. Au Vietnam la " guerre du peuple " défaisait la puissante Amérique, la Chine était rouge pour l'éternité, le Che plus grand mort que vivant, les impérialistes étaient des tigres en papier. C'était dans la nuit des temps... O.R. " Si je te raconte ça c'est parce que ton père était une partie de nous, de cet être multiple, entre héros et clown, qui s'appelait "nous" ". Olivier Rolin est né en 1947. Editeur et auteur de romans, de carnets de voyage, de récits, il a également été journaliste. Il est notamment l'auteur de Port-Soudan (prix Femina 1993), L'Invention du monde et Le Météorologue, disponibles en Points. " Des pleurs et des rires : voici le plus beau roman que j'ai lu depuis longtemps, le plus fort, le plus désespéré, le plus tendre. " Bernard Kouchner, Le Nouvel Observateur Prix France Culture 2003

Winner of the German Book Prize, this dark marvel of a novel by a fresh young voice tells a family story across two world wars and generations in Germany. The narrative opens in 1945, where Helene stands at a railway station with her seven-year-old son amid the chaos of civilians fleeing west. After enduring the horrors of war, she abandons him on the platform and never returns. The story then shifts to Helene’s childhood with her sister Martha in rural Germany, abruptly disrupted by the First World War. Their father is sent to the eastern front, and their Jewish mother retreats into mental confusion. In the early 1920s, after their father's death, Helene and Martha move to Berlin. Helene falls in love with philosophy student Carl, but his death before their engagement leaves her life feeling meaningless, leading her to find solace in her work as a nurse. At a party, she meets an ambitious civil engineer who wants to build motorways for the Reich and marry her. Their disastrous marriage produces a son, but Helene struggles to provide the love he needs. This unforgettable debut sheds light on early-twentieth-century Germany, revealing the citizens' denial—the “blindness of the heart” that survival demanded—while inviting readers to reflect on the historical context of the unfolding events.

Mia Holl lives in a state governed by The Method, where good health is the highest duty of the citizen. Everyone must submit medical data and sleep records to the authorities on a monthly basis, and regular exercise is mandatory. Mia is young and beautiful, a successful scientist who is outwardly obedient but with an intellect that marks her as subversive. Convinced that her brother has been wrongfully convicted of a terrible crime, Mia comes up against the full force of a regime determined to control every aspect of its citizens' lives.