The French Review

Creative Works edited by Jean-François Duclos Ascencio, Isabel. Un poisson sans bicyclette. Paris: Verticales, 2014. ISBN 978-2-07014414 -3. Pp. 301. 21,50 a. It is the summer of 1976; the weather in Provence is extremely hot and dry. A group of young people, seeking a utopia, have gathered to pursue their own lifestyle in total freedom on an old farm outside of Nice called Les Frêles, where their revolution would be without“usines occupées, université en grève, pavés ou CRS comme ils avaient fait à Paris” (23). To this story, Ascencio adds another character in alternating scenes: thirteen-year-old Lise, who dreams of liberation from the strappings of her socially-limited bourgeois environment. Her way out is, wistfully, via bicycle. However, a Renault car simply identified as an R16 reappears many times, not just as a mysterious presence, but as a powerful controlling metaphor as well. Lise constantly observes the happenings of Les Frêles, especially the actions of Jane, an English feminist married to the founder of the commune, but with different aspirations of freedom. The founder is an African with traditional values, which seem to counter some of the commune’s interests. The stories and points of view of the two female characters alternate throughout the novel, and their individual quests often encounter chauvinistic social obstacles. Even within the confines of the commune, where total equality should have prevailed, women come to realize that such equality is a myth. Only Marylou, a radical feminist within the commune,seems to think ideologically.Jane also comes to an understanding, but in a more spiritual sense:“Pire que ça, elle voulait dire, ici c’est le milieu de nowhere, un vrai cauchemar, et tu crèves lentement”(221). There are many references within the dialogues to the radical sixties/seventies and the feminist movement, but they are not part of an apologetic discourse on the part of the author. The scenes, characters, and actions convey the strong and vibrant beliefs of that implosive period, but the author does not preach. The novel works well, although it is at times sporadic in style; it is often disconnected in terms of fluidity, with additions of argot and, at times, of English expressions due to Jane’s spontaneous British references. The author’s strong identification with the feminist movement is clearly stated, not only with the apt title, but with her epigraph as well. Reading this novel brought back many divergent and also very fond memories of the 1960s and 70s. It was indeed an age of personal exploration and explosion. Although Ascencio’s focus is on the latter decade, it reminded this reader of Pascal Lainé’s L’irrévolution (1971). Lainé examined the disillusionment of the mai 68 generation, whereas Ascencio very nicely brings to life the melancholic feminist mystique of the seventies. Metropolitan State University of Denver Alain Ranwez 242 FRENCH REVIEW 88.3 ...