Baise-Moi is a violent, sexually explicit novel containing so much rage that it is almost unbearable. I almost feel a little guilty for enjoying it so much, but I can’t help myself. The novel centers around two young female characters: Manu and Nadine. Manu is a young woman who seems detached from life. She drinks far too much, does drugs, and even makes adult films on occasion to fund her drinking and drug abuse. She puts no value in herself, her body, or anything else. After being horrifically gang-raped one day, she meets and teams up with Nadine, a prostitute who is addicted to adult films and loud music. They go on a vicious, brutal murder spree where they take what they want, including lives, sex, and money, and offer no apologies. They seek to find the ultimate freedom. One would think it would be difficult to find anything redeeming or likeable in a novel like Baise-Moi, but I found it impossible to put down. It was so unashamed with its sexuality and violence that it was almost liberating to read. The actions of the characters are despicable and disgusting, but it’s not impossible to understand the source of their rage and even pity them in some small way. The novel is written in an unemotional style. You get the violence and gore without pages of inner monologue or inner exploration of the characters themselves. The writing style added a lot to the gritty feel of the story. When you strip away the aggression, you are really left with two vulnerable characters that feel alone and think they have nothing to lose because there is no hope for anything better in life. The core of the story is really quite sad.Baise-Moi isn’t a novel that everyone will understand or appreciate, but it can’t really be explained either. I recommend reading it and coming to your own conclusion.On a side note, if you enjoyed the novel you might like the film by the same name. It’s just as disturbing, but it’s interesting.
puh. erstmal durchatmen. dafür bleibt der lektüre keine zeit. dafür passiert alles zu schnell und alles zu viel. mit ihren beiden protagonistinnen hat despentes zwei frauen geschaffen, die weder was zu verlieren noch zu gewinnen haben (gewinnen hier gemeint im gesellschaftlichen verstanden). ihrer tour de mord&todschlag gewinnen die beiden nämlich ziemlich viel ab: adrenalin adrenalin adrenalin. und es entwickelt sich so was wie eine freundinnenschaft in der kurzen zeit, die sie miteinander frankreich unsicher machen und sie hinterlassen spuren: blut, schokoflecken, körpersäfte, zerstörung, eingeweide und leichen und sind berauscht von ihrer macht, dem alkohol und den drogen. und wissen doch: es kann nicht immer so weitergehen, muss es auch nicht, aber so lange es geht: gehts! explizit und drastisch werden gewaltszenen beschrieben (sowohl sexualisierte gewalt als auch eine vielfältige form phyischer angriffe von fußtreten bis kopf einschlagen) - das so was beschrieben wird, kann mensch sich denken, wenn mensch ein buch von despentes in die hände nimmt. und das moral und ethik und "die psyche der figuren erkunden" keinen platz haben auch. die erlebte gewalt, die erfahrenen verletzungen entladen sich in manu und nadine explosionsartig und hinterlassen ein trümmerfeld - davon nehmen sie sich auch nicht aus.
Do You like book Baise-Moi (Rape Me) (2003)?
Wow. Gritty, extreme nonsensical violence, and two women with nothing to live for, with guns. I picked this up at the book store and couldn't put it down - it reads surprisingly quickly, and I felt really indulgent/guilty to have derived enjoyment from this book, given the violence throughout. I was trying to find some kind of deeper meaning, and considered strains of Bataille, Jean Genet, de Sade, Pierre Louys, Irvine Welsh, or even Camus - but really, it comes down to the aestheticism of viole
—David
Ich mag es total, dass Virginie Despentes Charaktere beschreibt, die Unterschicht und auf richtig vielen Ebenen (in Ermangelung eines besseren Wortes) "kaputt" sind und trotzdem nie in einen Mitleidsgestus verfällt oder die Leute zu Opfern ihrer Umstände macht. Die sehr direkte Beschreibung von Gewalt, bestimmten sexuellen Praktiken und Übergriffen ist mit Sicherheit nicht jedermenschs Ding. Aber auch hier gefällt mir sehr, wie sie die Gratwanderung zwischen nicht-rechtfertigen und nicht-verherrlichen mE ganz gut hinbekommt. So weit das kurze, definitiv ergänzbare Fazit.
—Susi Sumpfblume
It's hard to know how to take this, mainly because I've never read anything quite like it. For this reason - its uniqueness - let's say it's good. And it is: fast-moving, convincing, entertaining. Fine writing it ain't, but it doesn't waste words and it doesn't feel as if it's unfolding to an agenda. On my edition (the Black Inc Australian one) an Australian woman critic calls it (or the film version) a story about 'women on top', and adds 'Vive le revolution!' But if you're looking for cathartic anti-male affirmative-action scenarios look elsewhere: the two psycho sex-addicts in Baise Moi don't care who they kill, man, woman or child, and they certainly have no manifesto. None, that is, except the absence of one. Killing for killing's sake - anything else is immoral. And there's something true in this, at least in the world of Baise Moi (or maybe in any fictional world - how I hate books with a clear-cut moral). A book with so much sex and violence could easily (like American Psycho) have bored or disgusted me, but not once did I feel this became gratuitous. And the characters? I liked them. Whether this book will leave a lasting impression on me I don't know, but for doing what it does with naturalness and raw grace I recommend it.
—Ben Winch
