A Nail, A Rose

"All is pure refusal in the watching world. It is not transient: if one doesn’t preserve in oneself a fragment of space or of time, then…. […] At least everything was going to be born, and the time for words would come."

Women and their lives around the 1940s; mostly working class, mostly surrounded by structural and/or male brutality, violence of men against women, the difficulty of escaping difficult situations, the lack of possibilities for women; Bourdouxhe's stories emit a sense of independence that strongly calls to mind Lispector's writing style.

The translation work here was excellent as Bourdouxhe's intelligence and talent as writer shone through. Varied mix of stories set in the 1940' that are in turns an exploration of brutality, surreality bordering on the absurd, as well as imprisonment without bars.

Recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

A Nail, A Rose is a collection of seven stories that are emotional and well written. The characters in the stories are interesting and you will remember this book after you have read it.

A Nail, A Rose is a collection of seven stories. It's quite a hard hitting book, and very well written.
I will remember them for some time to come. The characters were well developed although they were only stories and very memorable. I enjoyed the writing a lot as well.
I will read from this author anytime, and would really recommend this collection.
Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This ranks high on my shelf of overnight success stories discovered 70 years after being written. Bourdouxhe is right up there with Irene Némirovsky, Hans Fallada, and other authors who wrote eyewitness accounts of life under Nazi occupation, not historical novels or reconstructions, but works of originality given the spark of verisimilitude via experience. Her heroines are flesh and blood and evidently their stories mirror Bourdouxhe's own life. There is a fine introduction by Faith Evans, the translator, who researched Bourdouxhe while translating the stories back in the 1980's and had a chance to meet her in person.

A collection of stories by Belgian writer Bourdouxhe, translated from the French by Faith Evans. I'm not sure how to review this book; it's a series of small, crystalline gems with a razor sharp yet compassionate lens on the interior lives of working-class women. Bourdouxhe studied philosophy & wrote this after the Nazis came to power & accordingly these stories are heavy in thought & mood, less on plot. Reminds me of Clarice Lispector.

I’ve never considered myself a short story person, but I think I might need to reconsider. I really enjoyed this collection and the incredible women I met within it.
‘A Nail, A Rose’: This started the collection and felt completely timeless – not what I expected for a collection written in post-WWII Belgium and France. I found Irene, and weirdly her assailant, compelling and I wanted more of their story. The longing in this one is palpable.
‘Anna’ is a bit trippy and ‘Blanche’ was good; there is a scene doing the dishes like nothing I’ve ever imagined.
‘Louise’ is probably my fave of the stories. A short but effective meditation on dissatisfaction, on class, and on the relationship (both real and imagined) between a woman and her employer.
‘Leah’ is an interesting one. It took me awhile to get a handle on what was going on and then I was completely hooked. I loved Leah – character and story.
‘Clara’, a deaf woman, contemplates… and commits (?) suicide. Beautifully written and not unrelatable… but dark. Very dark.
‘René’: I’ve got very mixed feelings about this one. Aside from Leah, he’s the only character who commits violence… And, he commits it all over an innocent woman. <i>Why did Bourdouxhe write this? Why do I have to read it? </i> The woman’s passive resistance is the best part of the narrative; a bit of what Anna and Leah must have looked like from the outside/aggressor’s eyes. And, perhaps that is the point.
‘Sous le pont Mirabeau’ is <i>so, so good</i>. Following a mother and newborn fleeing from the Nazis across Belgium and France. Their struggles and those faced by those they come across. I didn’t know where this was going and I was so afraid for mother and child… but I’m so grateful it went to an unexpected and beautiful place instead. This is a marvellous way to end the edition.

These are a wonderful discovery having been recently translated and published by the excellent Pushkin Press who often seek out little gems of author and their books.
This is a set of seven short stories
"... they weren't in the habit of explaining things to each other" is mentioned in the first with the story of Danny and Irene (but from Irene's perspective). Many are from the female point of view but when the male narrator is to the fore such as with Rene the hairdresser the author shows she can be understanding of both male and female emotions.
Many issues weave their way through the stories - leaving/staying, domestic/worldy view and are set aginst the war although it rarely impinges directly onto the narrative. In fact the intricate descriptions are of the minute views we have as humans of our own place in the life we lead. There is often a focus on the body in all its senses and there are undercurrents of jealousy/manipulation and the reader is shocked and taken by surprise by some violent scenes.
Totally absorbing and so wonderful to discover this French writer. I shall look for more of her work

I discovered an new to me amazing author. All these stories are excellent, well written and engrossing.
I look forward to reading other works by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I was first drawn to A Nail, A Rose by its cover and especially the image central to it. It feels so French. It also immediately gives of a 'frustrated housewife' vibe, which I found intriguing. Although you'll definitely find that vibe in the stories contained in A Nail, A Rose, I'm happy to say that Bourdouxhe goes a lot deeper. Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this collection in exchange for an honest review.

Pushkin Press, under its 'Pushkin Collection', has been steadily providing me with some brilliant, translated fiction, much of it written by women. As Faith Evans states in her introduction to these stories, Bourdouxhe had been almost forgotten. Born in Belgium, she was deeply engaged with the oppression of the war, the occupation of France and the effects of repression on a creative mind. She was also writing for Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre's magazine Les Temps moderne. All in all, she was a fascinating woman and I find it fascinating, and saddening, how many of such people have disappeared from our awareness over time. So I'm very pleased that publishers like Pushkin Press and people like Faith Evans continue to put their time, effort and money into returning such jewels to us from the past.

A Nail, A Rose contains 7 stories, all of which are about women, but one of which is narrated by a man. Bourdouxhe looks at the interior lives of women, their secret frustrations, the blindness of those around them to their suffering, the restraints of society, the deep love and compassion they are capable of. Evans points out the lushness of Bourdouxhe's descriptions, how similar to Surrealist artists it is. There is definitely a Surrealist tinge to to Bourdouxhe's stories, whether it is the odd juxtaposition of images or the deep connection to the unconscious many of her female characters exhibit. The stories are, mostly, named after their main characters. 'Irene' is lost after the end of love and then attacked; 'Anna' feels disconnected from her life, husband and body that allow her no mental exercise; 'Louise' is a maid who dreams of understanding her mistress and the world more; 'Leah' is torn between a fantasy and reality; and 'Blanche' has shut herself off from the world around her to survive it. Meanwhile, 'Clara' is a story about silence and death and 'Rene' about an angry young man and a woman he can't impact.A standout story is 'Sous Le Pont Mirabeau', which is divided into small chapters and chronicles a chapter of Bourdouxhe's own life when, shortly after giving birth, she flees Nazi-occupied France. It is a beautiful story of motherhood, the kindness of strangers and the futility of war.

Each of Bourdouxhe's characters is a fully drawn, yet elusive portrait. They each leave a mark, have an impact, yet not even Bourdouxhe can entirely capture them, which seems on purpose. These women, who everyone seems to assume they can know, possess or overpower, are their own creatures, with thoughts often thousands of miles away. There is a dreamlike quality to Bourdouxhe's writing, which is perfectly captured by Faith Evans. Her translations follow the hazy yet insistent tone of Bourdouxhe's writing, the beauty and freedom of nature and dark night. There are some absolutely beautiful passages in A Nail, A Rose which stuck with me. I will definitely be exploring more of Bourdouxhe's oeuvre, especially as more of her works are apparently available in translation now.

Bourdouxhe's stories are far from gentle and yet they seem to exist on an unconscious, almost dreamlike plane. They hold harsh truths, beautiful moments and messages worth considering. Anyone interested in exploring both writing under oppression as well as early feminist writing should absolutely give A Nail, A Rose a go.

This one had me thinking about it long after I finished. Touching and atmospheric - I loved it. The author has a fascinating mind.

A unique collection of short stories.Each story drew me in captured my imagination will be reading more by this author.#netgalley#pushkinpress.

Unsparing; commanding; arresting- there are seemingly endless adjectives that apply to Madeleine Bourdouxhe’s short stories, a form she masterfully deployed to devastating effect. Her women-for it is the female experience she almost wholly concentrates on- are each attending to their inner voices in the midst of often devastating events.

Whilst not as conventional as some of her writing (‘Marie’, for example) and sometimes patchy in terms of quality, these stories give a real voice to their protagonists- their fears, wants and desires.

Bourdouxhe is a treasure - wonderful to see her works in translation. Brava. Highly recommended reading.

A wonderful collection of stories that delves into feelings of alienation and dissatisfaction and strong feelings stifled by prosaic lives. These women are often desperate and always powerful characters and there stories are a fascinating mix of the surreal and the existential. It's elegant and refined and throbbing with dreams and potential and dissatisfaction.