In the eyes of most people, Paris is the capital of art, the capital of fashion, and the capital of romance, all of which express the elegance and charm of Paris. However, the “yellow vest” incident that occurred at the end of 2018 broke people’s inherent impression of France. It turned out that in addition to gentlemen and ladies, France also has so many poor people at the bottom of society.
”Eddie’s Farewell” is a novel about the poor, seen as a burning letter from some forgotten corner, and it caused a sensation when it was published.
The author, Edward Louis, formerly known as Eddie Bellegrad, is known by the media as a dark horse in the French literary world. He was born in Picardy, one of the poorest regions of France. Like Eddie in the book, he experienced a difficult process of growth and “rebirth”, and finally escaped from the bottom society and became the lucky one who escaped from the original family environment. In his first autobiographical novel “Eddie’s Farewell”, he told the reasons for his escape and his mental journey one by one.
In the author’s pen, the poor town where Eddie was born and raised is completely different from the urban life in Paris, regardless of the environment and the living conditions of the people around. The town is almost isolated from the rest of the world. Generations have worked in factories and convenience stores in the town, and few people have gone out. Poverty and ignorance seem to be an innate shackle, firmly on the necks of these people.
The long-term scarcity of material resources and spiritual nourishment has gradually narrowed and distorted the cognition, judgment and thinking of people in the town. Here, reading is useless. Here, it is the anger of the lower classes—the violent domination of men—that governs everyday life. Skipping school, drinking alcohol, fighting, stealing, domestic violence, these negative images of men that are not recognized by the public have become labels here. In our opinion, behavior that has violated the law is a kind of honor in a small town. There is such a person in the family, and he will even be envied, praised, and worshipped.
Eddie’s father worked in a factory and his mother was an elderly care worker, and his family was even poorer than most in the town. A family of seven crammed into a dilapidated and cramped house, eating the cheapest food, sometimes even the most basic food and clothing. Dee decent education and caring too.
Eddie growing up in this environment was unfortunate and miserable. As Eddie’s Farewell begins: “I don’t have any happy memories of my childhood. I don’t mean to say that I have never felt happiness or joy in those years; it’s just that it was generally Painful—pain takes away everything else.”
In addition to the dire circumstances, Eddie himself got into big trouble. His shrill voice, swaying posture when walking, feminine hobbies, likes to study, not good at sports, etc., are different from the values advocated by the town, making Eddie an outlier and bullied. Even Eddie’s parents were overwhelmed by the unusual child, thinking he was “crazy with a weird head”. Their insults made him even more uncomfortable.
Young Eddie tries to change. He deliberately put on weight, played boy games, made girlfriends, blended himself into his surroundings, and tried to be a tough guy in the eyes of others. But after countless efforts, not only was it ineffective, but Eddie’s heart became more and more painful.
In the end, the helpless Eddie had no choice but to flee. Escape this deep-rooted poverty and ignorance, cross the class, and become a member of the “bourgeoisie” that parents hate.
It wasn’t until after escaping that Eddie discovered that the definition of masculinity was different from that of fathers and men in factories. This made him feel very gratified: “Maybe I’m not a sissy, it’s not like I thought before, but this body is bound by the world of my childhood.”
In reality, the author himself also used this novel to collect unbearable memories. Return to the inside and say goodbye to the past completely. When Eddie’s Farewell was officially published in France, Edward was only 21 years old. The young talented writer decided to officially change his name from Eddie Bellegrad to Edward Louis to announce the beginning of a new life.
