That depressing place called France: Virginie Despentes on a staircase in Paris
Image: Isabelle Eshraghi/Agence VU/Laif
She is hated, but recently also loved: How does the writer Virginie Despentes find this change herself? A conversation about her new book Dear Asshole, the benefits of aging and the desire for gentleness.
Ms. Despentes, since your debut novel “Baise Moi – Fick mich” almost thirty years ago, you have been considered a punk on the French literary scene. In 2000 the book was filmed under your direction. They were then put down, and the film was banned in many cinemas. A few years later you were dubbed the “21st Century Balzac” for your Vernon Subutex series. Then you created an enormous shitstorm with your statements about the attack on “Charlie Hebdo” and the abuse affair involving Roman Polanski. Now you have written another novel. It’s called Dear Asshole, and everyone, even those who otherwise hate you, will agree: This book is awesome. Does that surprise you?
I deliberately wrote the novel as a forgiving book, so I can’t complain about that. Nevertheless, I am generally more skeptical of compliments than criticism. Attacks are not pleasant, but you react to them intuitively. Compliments, on the other hand, can limit you. They can make you lose sight of what you’re really about, simply because it’s very comforting when everyone likes you. I’m very careful that this doesn’t stop me from saying what I think in the future, even if it gets me in trouble.
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