Amélie Nothomb

Strike Your Heart

This coming of age novel by the acclaimed Belgian author is “a disarmingly simple yet deeply complex study of a mother-daughter relationship” (The Washington Post).
One of the Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of fiction in 2018
Marie is the prettiest girl in her provincial high school, and dating the most popular boy in town. She is the envy of all her peers—and she loves it. But when she gives birth to Diane, things begin to change. Diane steals the hearts of all who meet her, inciting nothing but jealousy in her mother.
This is Diane’s story. Young and brilliant, she grows up learning about life through her relationships with other women: her best friend, the sweet Élisabeth; her mentor, the selfish Olivia; her sister, the beloved Célia; and, of course, her mother. It is a story about the baser sentiments that often animate human relations: rivalry, jealousy, distrust.
Revered throughout Europe, Belgian novelist Amélie Nothomb has won numerous prizes, including the French Academy’s Grand Prix. In Strike Your Heart, she offers a telling adult fable about womanhood and the mother-daughter bond.
95 printed pages
Original publication
2018
Publication year
2018
Translator
Alison Anderson
Have you already read it? How did you like it?
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Impressions

  • b6031997460shared an impression4 years ago
    👎Give This a Miss

    I felt it was a rushed story, engaging at some points but very loose at the end.

  • ILushared an impressionlast month
    👎Give This a Miss
    💞Loved Up
    🚀Unputdownable

Quotes

  • ILuhas quotedlast month
    Stupidity lies in wanting to draw conclusions,” wrote Flaubert. This was rarely better illustrated than in quarrels, where the imbecile could be identified by their obsession with having the last word.
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