He debuted with a bang. Then Édouard Louis was 22 years old and wrote about how he escaped from the village in northern France where he grew up. In order to survive at all, the gay youngster had to flee from an environment characterized by male chauvinists and racists. The debate did not fail: Could it really be that bad? Is there such great poverty in France today? And doesn’t he write condescendingly about the working class? Wanted to take revenge A handful of critically acclaimed books later, Louis picks up the thread from his debut. In “Change: Method”, he describes how he has almost unscrupulously found the way to a different and better life. It was not his interest in literature that made him become a writer. It was the desire to be seen. There was also a desire for revenge. But above all freedom: problematic liberation In “Change: Method” Édouard Louis admits that he has thrown friends overboard in order to get up and ahead. He has constantly looked for new ways to escape, looking for people he can imitate in order to change himself. Once again, Louis proves to be a brave writer. He examines his less sympathetic sides, and understands how his transformation project may be perceived by others. Away from the common people, Édouard Louis was the first in his family to go to high school. Growing up, the gay chick did his best to fit in. Until he realized he had to leave. He changed both appearance, environment and name, from the very popular Eddy Bellegueule to the young Édouard Louis. Was it a cynical striving or an actual struggle for survival that triggered the desire for success? For Louis, it was a matter of life or death. This is clearly shown in the text, it is like a wound where the crust refuses to heal. At the same time: Louis’ strength as a writer is that he recognizes the meaning of the term both and. Yes, he wanted to be like everyone else in the village, and yes, he hated the humiliations and the people who inflicted them on him. Creating himself through writing In the book, he describes how he first took a social step when he started high school in the neighboring city of Amiens, before he, after an enormous amount of work and a good portion of luck, gets into France’s number one elite school. Not even then is he satisfied. He will continue to show the world that he is the best. His friend Elena, whom he met in Amiens, and who almost included him as a brother in his middle-class family, is abandoned in favor of Eddy’s grandiose ambitions. Now only Paris and an intellectual career are good enough. LITERARY SUPERSTAR: Édouard Louis is one of the most important writers in Europe right now. Photo: Ole Kristian Årdal / news Sensationally good The book ends when Louis gets his first novel published at barely 22 years old. Then he sold sex to get money for dental bills, tasted luxury life with super-rich lovers, became friends with his great role model, the sociology professor Didier Eribon. Today, Édouard Louis is 30 years old, and his books have been translated into as many languages. They arouse debate, become plays and are the subject of their own festivals, such as the one Litteraturhuset in Oslo will hold this November. I would like to mention four reasons why “Change: Method” is a startlingly good book. They can also characterize the entire authorship. Smart text Firstly, this is a classic adventure story. It’s the underdog’s revenge on the bullies. This is a liberating process that one should do well not to be affected by. Second, he is extremely outgoing. There is no protective filter here. It makes his words sting. Third, he is analytically gifted. His personal history also becomes a sociological and political project. The political comes out more clearly in the book “Who killed my father?”, where he criticizes the French social security system, and in the essay “Samtale om kunst og politiksk”, which will also be published in Norwegian this autumn. Last but not least, Louis writes simply. He is surprisingly down-to-earth and verbal. Egil Halmøy has found the personal tone needed. In his Norwegian translation, there is not much pretentious language to be found. The pretentiousness lies in the author’s striving to become a star. I have great respect for the fact that Louis, despite the fact that it became imperative for him to change, also asks the question whether the hardships were worth it: The way forward The question becomes: What now? Does Édouard Louis have anything more than his own transformation from cowed poor boy to intellectual celebrity to write about? So far, he has not idled. Even if he repeats his own story to the point of boredom, “Change: Method” feels at least as necessary as the debut book. Nevertheless, I look forward to a new turn in an authorship that is one of the most significant in Europe right now. news reviews Photo: Aschehoug Title: “Change: Method” Original title: “Changer” Genre: Novel Translator: Egil Halmøy Publisher: Aschehoug Number of pages: 236 Date: 11 November
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Method” by Édouard Louis – Reviews and recommendations
