One of the final novellas by the acclaimed French writer Jean Giono,
Ennemonde is a fierce and jubilant portrait of a life intensely
lived
Ennemonde Girard: Obese. Toothless. Razor-sharp. Loving mother and
murderous wife: a character like none other in literature. In telling us
Ennemonde's astounding story of undetected crimes, Jean Giono immerses
us in the perverse and often lurid lifeways of the people of the High
Country, where vengeance is an art form, hearts are superfluous, and
only boldness and cunning such as Ennemonde's can win the day. A
gleeful, broad sardonic grin of a novel.
Roads move cautiously around the High Country... So begins the story of
Ennemonde, but also of her sons, daughters, neighbors, lovers, and
enemies, and especially of the mountains that stand guard behind their
home in the Camargue. This is a place of stark and terrifying beauty,
where violence strikes suddenly, whether from the hand of a neighbor or
from the sky itself.
Giono captures every wrinkle, glare, and glance with wry delight,
celebrating the uniquely tough people whose eyes sparkle with the cruel
majesty of the landscape. Full of delectable detours and startling
insights, Ennemonde will take you by the hand for an unforgettable
tour of this master novelist's singular world.
