Adèle

Leila Slimani

This short, sharp, shock of a book tackles a taboo subject head on. I found it hard not to judge a woman who has everything and risks losing it to feed her addiction. Through the course of the story my opinion of Adèle swung to and fro like a pendulum, mirroring her own internal tussle. Events are relayed in a flat, matter of fact way, yet I also found the writing strangely poetic. A divisive read which compels and repulses in equal measure.

Extract

He moves his mouth toward her and an electric wave runs through her belly. It hits her pussy and explodes it, fleshy and moist, like a peeled fruit. The man's mouth tastes of wine and cigarillos. Of forests and the Russian countryside. She wants him, and this desire, to her, feels almost like a miracle. She wants it all: him, and his wife, and this affair, and these lies, and the texts they will send, and the secrets and the tears and even the inevitable goodbye.

Parallels