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End of Eddy
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
53 posts | 53 read | 43 to read
An autobiographical novel about growing up gay in a working-class town in Picardy."Every morning in the bathroom I would repeat the same phrase to myself over and over again . . . Today I'm really gonna be a tough guy." Growing up in a poor village in northern France, all Eddy Bellegueule wanted was to be a man in the eyes of his family and neighbors. But from childhood, he was different--"girlish," intellectually precocious, and attracted to other men.Already translated into twenty languages, The End of Eddy captures the violence and desperation of life in a French factory town. It is also a sensitive, universal portrait of boyhood and sexual awakening. Like Karl Ove Knausgaard or Edmund White, Edouard Louis writes from his own undisguised experience, but he writes with an openness and a compassionate intelligence that are all his own. The result--a critical and popular triumph--has made him the most celebrated French writer of his generation.
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review
mirnas
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

Édouard Louis wrote this autobiographical text when he was 21! It could be read as a story about accepting one own's queerness, about domestic violence, about racism, homophobia, poverty and so many other things, but for me it is mainly a text about class issues. About what it means to be of a (post)working class or a bourgeois origin in contemporary France, as well in many other countries.

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Simona
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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New day and new book for #24b4monday Happy reading and stay safe❣️

Andrew65 A great start. 4y
58 likes1 comment
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Sic_Corneille
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

Eddy Bellegueule is a child born to below-the-poverty line parents in rural northern France in 1992.
He is too effeminate, a trait seen as a disease by his family. In consequence, he is verbally and physically abused.
It was a difficult read, because of the violence in some passages.

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bookwrm526
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Mehso-so

This book was BLEAK. All the trigger warnings I can think of, it is the semi-autobiographical story of a young gay boy coming of age in an extremely LGBTQ-unfriendly, poor village in northern France. This is my book for the author who is new to you category for #booked2019 and #LetterL for #LitsyAtoZ (in translation)

Cinfhen Like “A Little Life”bleak????? I don‘t think I can handle that!!! 5y
bookwrm526 @Cinfhen I haven‘t actually been able to bring myself to read A Little Life. This one has little glimpses of hope, but there‘s a lot of abuse 5y
Cinfhen That‘s a definite #HardPass 😢 I don‘t want to read about any kind of physical abuse ~ thanks for the warning. I‘ve now #unstacked 5y
40 likes3 comments
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Emilymdxn
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

A really harrowing difficult book to read so it would be weird to say I ‘enjoyed it‘ but it was beautifully written, I loved how stark without being cold it was. I‘d recommend if you have a cuddly sweet book to read afterwards.

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Emilymdxn
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Few minutes before meeting a friend means a bit of squeezed in reading time

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Emilymdxn
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Still working my way through a massive library stack, it could be weeks before I read a book from my actual tbr shelves. It seems like all my holds have arrived all at once! A friend who studied french at uni recommended me this and said it was one of her fave recent french novels, and I trust her recommendations a lot so I‘m looking forward to it a lot 😊

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andrew61
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

My last review of the night and this was another incredibly disheartening read about prejudice. Eddy grows up in a small french town in picardy where masculinity is violent and any weakness is picked upon. Eddy who as a child is struggling with his sexuality is bullied and abused and some scenes just felt very sad to read. A short book but worth reading.

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BarbaraBB
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Eddy must win! I know a lot of people loved Dear Cyborgs (not me), but come on, Eddy deserves some luck don‘t you think?! #ToB

mklong Sounds like the judge didn‘t care for either book, which does seem a bit unfair. It‘s ToB though, so I guess anything goes! 6y
BarbaraBB @mklong Yeah, the judge was no fan of both. Too bad for Eddy, unfortunately! 6y
merelybookish Yeah, the winner was definitely the lesser of two evils. I liked both of these books, but I'm glad Dear Cyborgs is moving on. 6y
50 likes3 comments
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Kristelh
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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#ToB #2018 winners thus far. Currently reading The End of Eddy and Idaho.

BarbaraBB Great selection. I hope Idaho will join this league tomorrow! What is your favorite? 6y
Kristelh @BarbaraBb I haven‘t read enough to pick. Read Fever Dream. I don‘t even know how to categorize it. I think horror comes close. 6y
BarbaraBB Yes it was a kind of genre on its own, a real fever dream, I think. I really enjoyed it. 6y
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Kristelh @BarbaraBB what is your favorite? 6y
BarbaraBB Hmmm. I don‘t know anymore. So many good ones. I loved Idaho, Exit West, and The Idiot, closely followed by Eddy and Pachinko! 6y
Kristelh @BarbaraBB I am liking Idaho 6y
RidgewayGirl Sing, Unburied, Sing is a masterpiece, Exit West is brilliant and my heart belongs to The Idiot. 6y
16 likes1 stack add7 comments
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UnabridgedPod
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

Wow. The End of Eddy was a heartbreaker of a novel. After reading the commentary in the Tournament of Books, I had to read it, and its vivid detailing of the protagonist‘s (and perhaps the author‘s?) childhood made this almost a one-sitting read for me.

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BarbaraBB
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Go Eddy, go! I just finished this book in time for today‘s match in the #ToB. I haven‘t read Lucky Boy but I hope Eddy will win anyhow. The poor boy so deserves it...
Or doesn‘t it stand a chance against Lucky Boy?

#TournamentOfBooks

merelybookish Go Eddy! I bailed on Lucky Boy. The writing is not as strong as the other books in the tournament, imo. 6y
AceOnRoam I read them both, I'm not fussed which one wins the round. Neither is a Rooster, but I have been wrong nearly every step of the way so far 😯 6y
AceOnRoam Yes, poor poor Eddy 😔 6y
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mklong I bailed on Lucky Boy too. It wasn‘t even interesting enough to be bad, it was just so bland. Go Eddy Go! 6y
ohyeahthatgirl I haven't read either, but my brackets were busted yesterday. I love reading the judge's decision, though. Makes me want to read them all! 6y
merelybookish @mklong Agreed. Such a mediocre book! 6y
susanw I didn‘t read Lucky Boy. Eddy was so heartbreaking. 6y
BarbaraBB And yes, the judge did what she should! Go Eddy! @merelybookish @mklong 6y
merelybookish @BarbaraBB Yay! I thought she was quite generous to LB in her judgement. But Eddy is definitely the better book! 6y
BarbaraBB @merelybookish She is indeed, I am almost tempted to read it 😉 6y
mklong Yay!! It was very nice of the judge to make it seem like the problem with Lucky Boy may lie with her and not entirely with the book. I also agree with her that it was an odd matchup since these books have so little in common. She clearly made the right choice though! 6y
Redheadrambles I didn‘t have a horse in this race so to speak but I had chosen Eddy in my otherwise decimated brackets so at least that‘s a win 😀 6y
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mklong
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

A visceral description of the fear and violence of the childhood of an impoverished, gay boy in rural France. This is poverty on a scale most of us are fortunate enough to not even be able to imagine, and yet Eddy's family still manages to find some even less fortunate to criticize in order to mask the shame they feel about their own circumstances. Because these descriptions are so searingly clear, this was a difficult read, but worth the effort.

mklong Another one where I am in just in time for #TOB2018. The judges seem to be rewarding authors who take risks and challenge the reader and since Lucky Boy takes no risks and is the opposite of challenging, I'll be shocked if Eddy gets bounced. 6y
batsy Great review. I've been putting off reading this because it seems like it'll be a difficult read but I really want to. And I agree with you about #ToB2018 rewarding authors who take risks. So pleased about Dear Cyborgs but still bummed about White Tears 🙂 6y
mklong @batsy Thanks! It is mercifully short. I couldn‘t have handled much more. And yeah, I was sad about White Tears too! I thought with Lincoln in the Bardo out, it had an easy path to the final. Wrong. At least it lost to a good book though. If Book of Joan ousts Sing Unburied Sing, I‘m planning a protest march! 6y
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BarbaraBB Great review. I hope it‘ll win today and agree with your thoughts: the more daring authors seem to win this year! 6y
BarbaraBB About Book of Joan and Sing Unburied Sing: I haven‘t read neither. Should I? 6y
mklong @BarbaraBB Sing Unburied was easily my favorite book of last year, so I highly recommend that one. I found Book of Joan to be a big sloppy mess, so I‘d skip it if I were you. 6y
BarbaraBB Thanks. I have been postponing Sing because ghosts and puke don‘t appeal but you have convinced me 😀 6y
merelybookish I assume Sing Unburied, Sing has to win tomorrow. I haven't read Book of Joan but haven't seen anyone who likes it. 6y
mklong @merelybookish I haven‘t seen anyone who likes Book of Joan either. With the other unexpected results, even when I didn‘t agree, I could respect the logic. I can‘t imagine a justification for BOJ advancing. 6y
Redheadrambles Ghosh it has to be Sing surely ? I also haven‘t read Book of Joan but also don‘t see many supporters of it. I liked Sing very much but not as much as my two lost books which I shall stop grieving for eventually..... 6y
AceOnRoam Agree this book was a very good, but glad it was short. Poor eddy... 6y
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BarbaraBB
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

Eddy is bullied and beaten, because he is 'different'. The boy grows up in a stifling environment full of alcoholism, unemployment and crime. A village where the houses are non-isolated and the tv is on eight hours a day. A village dominated by poverty, violence, racism and especially homophobia. Eddy is one of them, but yet not, and that's why he has to flee. A painful but striking sociological portrait of an unknown France in current times. #ToB

GatheringBooks i had the privilege of listening to him speak during the singapore writers festival november of last year. he was definitely riveting. 6y
BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks That must have been so special. Did he was like you imagined him to be? 6y
merelybookish It is hard to read this as fiction. Everything about it felt like lived experience. I expect it will win tomorrow. 6y
BarbaraBB @merelybookish It is all true, i read in an interview with him, not one word of fiction. So sad! I hope it will win tomorrow. 6y
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brownekr
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Mehso-so

Last-minute #tob18 reading continues.

I didn't really care for this one, but I'm interested to talk it out. There were so many strange sentence constructions and syntax choices; I'm not sure whether they're awkward translation or an accurate reflection of the French text. (The author's also a philosopher so it COULD BE ANYTHING.)

That said, this passage floored me, because it puts a careful pin in something very adolescent and true. #queerbooks

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RidgewayGirl
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

This is a bleak, often hard to read account of a sensitive gay boy growing up in a brutal, working class village in northern France. It end on a note of hope, though, that redeems the rest of it.

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RidgewayGirl
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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This short book has snuck up on me. It‘s the story of a sensitive gay boy growing up in a rough, economically depressed village in northern France.

Our new cat, Homer, is getting comfortable in our house, with all the kids, cats and one very large dog.

Libby1 Hi, Homer. 😻 6y
Liz_M He's beautiful! 6y
17 likes2 comments
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thebluestocking
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Mehso-so

Whew. This book was so visceral, I felt like I was there. But it also felt a little disjointed and bitter. It was definitely an interesting look at growing up gay in a small, homophobic and alcoholic village and how poverty shapes world views. I think it‘ll make for some good discussions in the Tournament of Books. #tob18

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thebluestocking
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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My current audiobook. I‘m super invested in Eddy‘s story. #tob18

BkClubCare Yay! 6y
thebluestocking @BkClubCare I took the audio plunge on this because of you! Audible credit hours be damned. 6y
17 likes2 comments
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karenna
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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#RiotGrams--day2--#CurrentlyReading--I'm starting this book today. It's one of the books shortlisted for The Morning News's Tournament of Books #ToB18.

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merelybookish
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Halfway through #TOB18 book #11. It feels more like a memoir than a novel. Not exactly an easy read.

BkClubCare No, nor an easy listen. 6y
merelybookish @BkClubCare I did like it though. Or 'like' is the wrong word. I thought it was well done. You? 6y
BkClubCare Yes, startling and raw. But, not really ‘a story‘, if that makes sense. I am glad to have ‘read‘ it and look forward to the sure-to-be insightful commentary during TOB. (edited) 6y
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BkClubCare
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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A 4+ hour audio? So violating my rule to get “most hours for my money” but I want to get as many #TOB18 books in as possible, fast. Now to plan a few long walks with the dogs...

thebluestocking Ooh, I haven‘t been able to get a hold of this book yet. I may have to violate my rule too and get it on Audible. Finishing another Tournament book in 4 hours sounds nice. 6y
BkClubCare @thebluestocking - I just finished The Idiot and downloaded Idaho on eBook. I will listen to Manhattan Beach after Eddy. I love this frenzy, don‘t you?! 6y
thebluestocking Yes! I love it so much. So far my favorite of the group is Idaho. I look forward to hearing what you think. 6y
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BkClubCare @thebluestocking - am just starting the Elizabeth and Jenny section now! 6y
BkClubCare @thebluestocking - oh. My. Not sure what I thought... but the more I think abt it, I get disgruntled. Too choppy and my questions are unresolved! But. The tone, mood, and anticipation-building, the wonderment of WHAT the HECK is going on here?! Is GOOD. (Fyi - these are thots on Idaho...) (edited) 6y
thebluestocking Yeah. It‘ll be an interesting one in the Tournament. I think judges will either love it or hate it. 6y
14 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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TracyReadsBooks
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

This book drew my attention because Rakesh Satyal tweeted about it saying, amongst other things, it‘s a book that can save lives. It‘s an autobiographical novel about growing up queer in a poor northern French village. So many thoughts about it—horrifying, heartbreaking, maddening, & inspiring. It isn‘t always an easy read, Eddy‘s childhood isn‘t easy, but I believe it‘s as important, powerful, & necessary as Satyal suggests. Highly recommended.

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TracyReadsBooks
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Rakesh Satyal, author of No One Can Pronounce My Name which was one of my favorite 2017 reads, recommended this book very passionately on Twitter. I‘m expecting a very powerful story.

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TracyReadsBooks
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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It‘s impossible to have a meeting in a bookstore and not come home with some new books. Really, I‘ve tried. It‘s impossible. So, this is today‘s haul. I must confess only two of them for me...The third is for my son. Decided he needed a new book too since my daughter and husband are both deep into Iron Gold. It looks like a great weekend of reading for the whole family!

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ReadingEnvy
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

I understand this to be highly autobiographical (I wonder why he wrote it as a novel?) But it is a heartbreaking coming of age story of a young gay boy in a factory town, translated from the French. All I can keep thinking about is the boys that don't get out (I knew one growing up, who took his life before graduating high school so it's just about all I can see here. His family was just about as violent and he was called the same names.)

MicheleinPhilly This sounds brutal. 😔 6y
TrishB @MicheleinPhilly I agree. Too sad. 6y
Kerrbearlib I loved this book. It was so heartbreaking, but I am glad I read it. 6y
ReadingEnvy @KerryLibME yes it really stays with you too 6y
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susanw
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

Heartbreaking, sad, disturbing, brutal, upsetting. This list could go on. @AceOnRoam compared this to A Little Life, and honestly, I found this harder to read. ALL was fiction, This is autobiographical. Jude at least had friends who loved and protected him, poor Eddy was on his own. I gave this 3.5 star, mostly because it was so difficult to read about. #ToB2018

AceOnRoam Very true Susan, Eddy was so alone and confused. 6y
ReadingEnvy I am starting this one today. 6y
55 likes2 comments
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AceOnRoam
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

One of the hardest books I have read since A Little Life, not an enjoyable read.

#ReadingOnRoam

TrishB I really wanted to read this but thought that it would be very hard! 6y
AceOnRoam @TrishB it was one I had to keep taking a break from. I can't handle bullying 😢 6y
susanw Reading this now. It makes me sad to know this is autobiographical. At least with A Little Life you knew it was fiction. 6y
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TrishB @AceOnRoam I think I‘ll probably leave for now! @susanw 6y
AceOnRoam Too true @susanw and it reads like it was the 50s but it's very recent history. So much poverty porn. 6y
AceOnRoam @TrishB good idea. 6y
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theshrinkette
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

"We are always playing roles and there is a certain truth to masks. The truth of my mask was this will to exist differently."

A relentlessly brutal coming-of-age novel of a young boy growing up in a small town trying to come to terms with his sexuality. This is autobiographical, and it's emotionally a huge investment, inspite of the length of the novel. Man, the lengths we go to just for a little affection from friends and family.

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theshrinkette
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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TFW you pick up a book just because an author you like was talking about it on social media. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

GatheringBooks i had a chance to hear him speak at the singapore writers festival this year and he was simply amazing. 6y
BarbaraBB Seems plausible 😉😘 6y
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mklong
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Check out the nominees for the Albertine Prize: http://lithub.com/announcing-the-nominees-for-the-2018-albertine-prize/

This award is for French novels translated to English. I had only heard of the tagged book before seeing the short list, but now I want to read them all! I guess now I‘m planning a Francophilia filled January.

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GatheringBooks
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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My daughter and I attended French novelist, Édouard Louis‘ session last night, whose story of experiencing violence because of his sexuality, is another mindblowing experience. “I just want my father to stop being ashamed of me. That was my dream.” #SWF2017.

Reggie Wow. I want to read this. 6y
GatheringBooks @Reggie i ordered one of his books. definitely one of the drawbacks of attending the festival - i find myself buying even more books!!! cries. 6y
19 likes2 comments
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Kathrin
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

Difficult book to read... the violence and the poverty gut punching.

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Kathrin
End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Slowly making my way through this book... it's a rough read... lots of bullying, lots of poverty...

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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

This debut novel—a memoir in all but name—by young French writer Édouard Louis is a raw account of the anguished, highly sexualized coming-out process that remains darned near universal for queer men everywhere. Some of the descriptions of his bigoted, dirt-poor family read like poverty porn, but all of it was thoroughly engrossing.

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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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saresmoore Ugh. 7y
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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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My interest in this book was flagging a bit, but this sentence struck me as one of the truest evocations of how pre- and adolescent gay male confusion and longing plays out verbally and socially that I have ever, ever come across!

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thatbookboi
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

A book shining the light on extreme poverty, violence, and self acceptance, The End of Eddy (En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule) is a small but heavy read that is so important to current times. It's poetic, unique, and devastating but you will always be rooting for Édouard in this autobiographical novel.

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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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thatbookboi
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Summer TBR has officially started!

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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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batsy 😢 7y
saresmoore Wow, that is powerful. And I've noticed a lot of the dust in light descriptions in books lately. (edited) 7y
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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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In French, 'collège' means boys' secondary school.

Such taunting was a big part of my childhood too. I am not in any need of cyber-hugs or anything, though, lovely people. I push myself to reflect as much on how I bullied—including homophobically—other kids whenever the pecking order rearranged itself so as to give me a temporary reprieve, as I reflect on being the victim. I was both/and, and need to give as many apologies as I'm owed.

TrishB This is on my potentially to buy list - I'll be interested in your review. 7y
andrew61 I heard him talking on vintage books podcast recently shawn, its definitely a book on my radar but he described negative some of the reactions were in France. 7y
shawnmooney @TrishB Early on, it certainly is powerful: stay tuned! @andrew61 Yes I heard that podcast interview, or at least part of it. 7y
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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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‼️

Lindy Is this the English translation of Histoire de la violence? 7y
shawnmooney @Lindy No idea. The dates match up somewhat. 7y
shawnmooney @Lindy Wait. That info must be somewhere in the book. I'll check my hardcover copy when I get home! 😍 7y
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Lindy @shawnmooney Darn. I thought the information might be in the front matter of your copy. The French title I mentioned is the only thing my local library has by Louis. 7y
Lindy @shawnmooney Okay! Thank you. 7y
shawnmooney @Lindy Yeah please see my follow-up comment above in case you missed it. :) 7y
shawnmooney @Lindy Certainly the first few chapters—powerful!—match the French title! 7y
Lindy @shawnmooney Messages zipping through space faster than I can type a response. What a world this is. 😀 7y
shawnmooney @Lindy I have now double-checked: it is not. The English title is pretty much a word for word translation of the French. 7y
Lindy @shawnmooney Thank you. 😊 7y
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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Bookzombie I don't know when I get I will get to this one, but I stacked it. Of course, if you bail I may remove it. 😉 7y
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Twocougs
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Pickpick

I read an article about Hillbilly Elegy and it mentioned that this was the French equivalent. I'm not sure I agree other than both groups of people vote similarly- Trump/LePen. Dealing with class, violence, and sexuality, this moving autobiographical novel, broke my heart 💔. It is worthy of a read. Glad I ordered it from the U.K. (Not released in the US yet😢). Edouard Louis is a talented writer.

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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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Look what just arrived: a newly translated French gay novel that, according to the dustjacket blurb, "has sparked debate on social inequality, sexuality and violence." Count me in!

8little_paws Ooohhh intriguing!! 7y
LeahBergen Sounds good! 7y
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LonesomeReader
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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The End of Eddy is a poignant new coming of age novel that explores social exclusion, sexuality & poverty.

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shawnmooney
The End of Eddy | Edouard Louis
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A February 2017 autobiographical novel in translation about growing up gay in working class Picardy, France. Count me in!