No One by Gwenaelle Aubry

Cleaning up her father’s home after his death, Gwenaëlle Aubry discovered a handwritten, autobiographical manuscript with a note on the cover: “to novelize.” The title was The Melancholic Black Sheep, but the subtitle An Inconvenient Specter had been crossed out. The specter? Her father’s disabling bipolar disorder. Aubry had long known that she wanted to write about her father; his death, and his words, gave her the opportunity to explain his many absences—even while he was physically present—and to sculpt her memory of him.

I received an advanced copy of this book. It is a translation of her book Personne. The book comes out February 2012.

Aubry's father was never a regular father. He struggled with mental disorders her entire life. After he dies, she finds a manuscript in his home. This story is her tells her fathers story while, also, trying to make sense of his disorder, of all mental illness.

First, this is a 'fictional memoir'. I've never been a big fan of these types of books. I feel like I am being told a lie and it's being sold as the truth. I don't like them in general. Especially if I know some background of the person(s) it's about. Thankfully I know nothing of Aubry or her father.

The book goes back and forth between Aubry's memories and thoughts to parts of her fathers own memoirs. It gave some good insight into the life of someone struggling with mental illness and, also, into the life of their family members, also struggling to deal with it. The chapters are named by the letters of the alphabet, each one corresponds to a word that reminds her of her father. I liked how they were broken up in such a personal way.

Aubry's writing is very simple but beautiful. The simplicity of it really adds emotion to the narrators voice. In it you can feel her love, hate and confusion for her father. I enjoyed that aspect of it. The fathers voice is unique, too. You could see how intelligent he was during his lucid times and how confusing it was for him during his 'mad' times. It was very interesting.

The story can be dull at times. It didn't keep my attention the entire way. There were parts where I really struggled.

Also, the layout of the writing drove me crazy. The lack of punctuation and capitalization, in places, made it confusing and hard to get through. I'm not sure if it was supposed to add to the insight of mental illness or if it is the result of poor editing. Though, it may not be like this in the finished, published, book.

It was an interesting read and beautifully written. I think it's worth a read if it sounds like something that would interest you.

3 out of 5 stars

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