The French newspaper Le Monde described the book as “luminous” if also dense with ideas
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
A novel depicting France’s #MeToo movement by the French punk feminist writer Virginie Despentes, irreverently titled Cher Connard – which roughly translates as Dear Arsehole – has become a bestseller, prompting a debate about sexual harassment and equality in the social media age.
The story opens as Oscar, a novelist in his 40s, insults an actor on Instagram about the way she has aged. The film star, Rebecca, sends a furious reply just as Oscar is accused online by a young female press officer of sexual harassment years earlier.
Oscar’s dismissive approach to what he calls “this #MeToo thing” and his initial incomprehension at being “#MeToo-ised” triggers an examination of modern French society through the alternate viewpoints of the accused man, the actor and the young accuser, as they write to each other or publish online. It is set against a backdrop of Covid lockdowns, Zoom meetings and addiction.
The novel was hailed as an exploration of France’s sometimes difficult relationship with the #MeToo movement. The accusations of sexual misconduct against the US film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 galvanised women across the world to speak out….
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