The Book of Mother, Violaine Huisman
“Violaine’s narration of her mother’s story is her attempt to write her mother, who has always remained just out of reach, into existence”
Violaine Huisman’s The Book of Mother is a powerful and emotive piece of autofiction that explores the endurance of the familial bond between a mother and her daughters. Translated from French by Leslie Camhi, The Book of Mother is as raucous as it is melancholic.
The Book of Mother begins with the fall of the Berlin Wall. As Violaine recalls the moment she watched the wall crumble on her television set, all she can picture is her mother Catharine’s remains lying in the rubble. Thus begins a chronicle of the life of Catherine as told by her daughter Violaine, who provides us with two lenses through which she sees her mother. The first is a child’s perspective, which recounts her experience growing up with a mother suffering from a debilitating mental illness. In the second half, the perspective shifts dramatically. As an adult, Violaine tells her mother’s story in a way that enables Catherine to emerge as a fully-fledged person, and it is through telling Catherine’s story that Violaine is finally able to understand her mother and experience an affinity with her that hadn’t previously been possible.
The Book of Mother raises an interesting debate about who has the right to tell another person’s story, the novel manifesting as a kind of collaborative project between mother and daughter. As Violaine inherits her penchant for storytelling from her mother, writing Catherine’s story becomes the vehicle through which she remains connected to her. Conversely, the text begs the question: how much of it really is Catherine’s story? Catherine is not the narrator, and her story is constantly filtered through the voice of her daughter; perhaps Violaine’s narration of her mother’s story is her attempt to write her mother, who has always remained just out of reach, into existence.
Crucially, Huisman emphasises the multifaceted nature of people; Catherine is flawed, talented, volatile, creative, and violent, while remaining utterly devoted to her daughters. In doing so, Huisman powerfully rebukes the idealised paradigm of motherhood that is so entrenched in our society.
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