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  • Today, "L'envol" by Aurélie Valognes, whom our contributor interviewed for the release of her book on March 1, 2023 at Éditions Fayard.

Holly Goli, blogger and contributor to the 20 Minutes Books reading group, recommends "L'envol" by Aurélie Valognes, whom she interviewed for the release of her book on March 1, 2023 at Éditions Fayard.

His favorite quote:

I look at the other parents. Yes, my mother is different, but she is better than them, and they don't know it. She's better than me, and she doesn't know it either. If someone dares to make fun of her, to make the slightest inappropriate remark, the slightest smile in the corner, I tear out her eyes.

Why this book?

  • Because this novel is about the mother-daughter relationship. We all have a mother, whether we are close or not. Aurélie Valognes explores this relationship from the birth of the girl to the serene climate between the two women. There are ups and downs but we all find ourselves at least one point in this story.
  • Because the construction of the novel is singular. Divided into several parts, each chapter allows Lili and her mother Gabrielle to express themselves on different moments of their lives. The two points of view on the same moments allow the reader to have all the cards in hand.
  • Because Aurélie Valognes' pen is still beautiful and even more. She picks in the heart and this novel gives the feeling of sharing more than a moment of reading, but a moment out of time at her side. As if we were living this story with her.

Aurélie Valognes, how did you come up with the idea of writing a novel about the mother-daughter relationship?

It all started with an interview with a journalist, Adrien Naselli, who after reading Born Under a Good Star, was the first to ask me about my transclass journey. He wrote an essay collecting the testimony of about fifteen "defectors" (a word I discovered) who by their academic success had emancipated themselves from their environment of origin, and for the first time he also gave the floor to their parents. My mother, although shy, agreed to testify, and when the book came out (And your parents, they do what? at Lattès, 2021), I discovered by reading its parts that we had not experienced the same events in the same way. It stirred a lot in me and I wanted to better understand what she had experienced. She allowed me to listen to the hour of interview that Adrien Naselli had recorded with her, and I heard in her voice her emotion, her anger, her pride and her suffering too. I wanted to draw the thread of our story. I felt that he had a certain value in telling this emancipation, that we should not be the only ones to have experienced it and to have suffered certain injustices. I wanted to tell all that she had done for me, putting all the chances on my side because one never succeeds alone or alone, and yet she did not receive any medal for her work in the shadows.

What is your writing process? Was it different for the Envol?

My process always takes place in three phases. The first one lasts about four months during which I turn around a subject, I feed on it, I do interviews, I go to the field, and I end up defining characters and their trajectories. I always start from an injustice, from a subject that revolts me, that clings to the guts and does not let go of me. The second phase is when I isolate myself. I lock myself in a hotel room, without a husband, without children, and I write. I take out everything I have in mind, I go to the end of my idea, and I come back, usually with 150 pages, which I let rest for a few days. Then comes the last phase, which lasts about three months, that of rework. There I reread first as a reader, then as an editor. At this point, I can start everything from top to bottom. I try to be as fair as possible, with the intention and emotion intended. It's a long-term job, sometimes depressing, but everything is at stake at this stage. When my text suits me, I read it out loud in its entirety. I check that each phrase has its rhythm, its balance, there is like an internal music, sometimes it lacks a foot, it is heard, so I rebalance. When I am satisfied, I send to my publisher. For L'Envol, what was enriching was that I had the chance to read it for the audio version and was therefore able to assume each of my words during its oral reading.

Does the Envol have a particular construction?

I wanted to give body to two voices, two solitudes, two women, without ever judging. So I chose the double "I", one for the mother, the other for the daughter. The idea was that she tells us each their truth, their story, with modesty, and that the reader has access to what they do not say to each other, that the reader is also active in reading, sometimes filling the holes and silences of their common history. It was the only way for me to tell this story, without taking sides.

Three words to describe the Flight?

Personal, full of love and full of hope.

The essentials in 2 minutes

The plot. The relationship between a mother and daughter varies over time. Here, the two are going to be very close before reaching a point of no return. Is this love worth all the sacrifices?

The characters. Lili and her mother Gabrielle. As well as secondary characters who bring another dimension to their relationship.

Places. In France but also in England when Lili is an adult.

The time. Current.

The author. Aurélie Valognes portrays society through stories full of humor and emotion. She is one of the most widely read authors in France, her novels are translated into fifteen languages and some are being adapted.

This book was read with the feeling of reliving, too, a part of my story. We have only one mother and Aurélie Valognes offers us the most touching and intimate novel there is, as a window on her soul and that of her readers. A huge favorite!

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