Vanda by Marion Brunet

Name of Book: Vanda

Author: Mariion Brunet 

ISBN: 978-1-913394-65-3

Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press 

Type of book: Southern France, Marseilles, poverty, job, single parenthood, past, secrets, mother/son relationship, lack of housing, choices, determination, contemporary times 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

A psychological thriller set in Southern France. Brunet has followed on from the success of “the Summer of Reckoning” with this magnificent portrait of a woman and a mother, a beautiful and often poetic tale that is unflinching about social and personal violence. Set in Marseilles, this the story of Vanda, a beautiful woman in her thirties, arms covered in tats, skin so dark that some take her for a North African. Devoted to her six-year-old son Noé, they live in a derelict shed by the beach.

She had wanted to be an artist; she is now a cleaner in a psychiatric hospital. But Vanda is happy living alone with her boy. “The two of them against the world”, as she says. Everything changes when Simon, the father of her son, surfaces in Marseilles. He had left Vanda seven years earlier, not knowing that she was pregnant. When Simon demands custody of his son, Vanda’s suppressed rage threatens to explode. The tension becomes unbearable, both parents fully capable of extreme violence.

Characters:

Main character is Vanda, a plucky, desperate and resourceful single mom whose only objective is to care for her beloved son Noe. Vanda comes from a village where she was judged by her mom's sexual activities and is determined to run away from that particular reputation by going to college. However, she falls pregnant and is forced to put her dreams on hold indefinitely, and instead transfers all of her love and hopes onto her son Noe, never really seeing him or letting him be his own person. Also, for the record, she willingly never told Simon about Noe. Simon isn't wealthy, but somehow he gets a wealthy Parisienne woman to want to marry him. He desires to spend more time with Noe and to try to dislodge the smothering affection Vanda holds for their son, but quite often, Simon fails at these basics, giving Vanda plenty of reasons to see him as a threat instead of a partner. 

Theme:

Poverty is privileged 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Vandas, Simons and a little bit of Noes points of view. Pretty much most of the story focuses on Vandas memories of taking care of Noe as well as attempting to find places where she can get food. There is also her permanent job as well as a rally and a threat of what will happen should she get caught attending it. While it feels as Vandas life has completely broken apart, Noes father's life, Simons,  is only just rising as he is doing a lot better than Vanda in having a job, money and possible marriage. However, his "good" intentions are misconstrued a lot by Vanda and seeing him as a threat, something has to give. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A
Opinion:

Comparing this one to Antoine Laurains Reading Room ( a previous French mystery I read and reviewed) is akin to comparing Apple's to oranges. The similarities are superficial, but the differences are profound, namely that VANDA takes on poverty and single motherhood in France and it dares to expose them to the readers' eyes. VANDA also points out a desperate motherhood where it feels as if her beloved son has little room to develop as a person. I also have a six year old boy, and he is definitely his own person. However, Noe, Vandas son, has a stiffled personality. This isn't a book of beauty or butterflies or even unicorns, but is a story of rage, of desperation and of what happens when dreams are thwarted and aren't given a chance to grow and poverty is not of the privilege or of social programs like in America. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)