First published in France in 2013, Mi madre rie is the last book written by the already legendary Belgian filmmaker, Chantal Akerman before her death in 2015. It is a confessional but not sentimental book that passes from one memory to another of one person to another but always returns to the main character: his mother.
Like his films, the book is direct, written in prose that brings us back to the flow of thought and the association of ideas as if Akerman were lying on the couch. His sentences are short and simple, with a consistent structure. The score is poor.
It is difficult to know who is speaking, whether the daughter, the mother or the sister, sometimes some third party who sneaks into the conversations. The sentences of a single word alternate and mark the speed of a mind that does not stop. Thoughts are like whirlwinds unfolding page after page. And so it begin...read more
