Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes
The original (French) version of Vernon Subutex was published in 2015 After finishing my extra French book, Faces on the Tip of My Tongue , my original choice as a representation of French literature still hadn't arrived in the post and so, treading water in the land of Gauls, I picked a third book. We've moved up to Paris for a book that is titled the same in both French and English (and I'm guessing every other language it has been translated into) the International Booker short listed, Vernon Subutex 1. Virginie Despentes (real name Daget) was born in 1969 in Nancy, France and seems to have had a troubled upbringing. At the age of 15 her parents had her sectioned for behaviour which she herself says would have been acceptable, except for the accident of her being born female. After dropping out of education at 17 Virginie hitchhiked and followed rock bands, during which time she was raped. Finding herself in Lyon she worked as a maid, a prostitute, in a record store, a...
