Books: Biographie de la faim, A Novel by Amelie Nothomb, AKA The Life of Hunger, 2004

The Independent called the book a "memoir of a megalomaniac" and I can't agree more. Who would not stop talking about herself and her childhood as if it is something so exceptional that every detail deserves attention. Can't understand authors that consider their childhood memories worth sharing with the world. And, yet, I would read Knausgaard childhood memories...What makes Nothomb's childhood memories so annoying is that sugar-syrup-dripping cuteness and narcissism that lives in every single page. Even the self-deprecating statements ("I am ugly and have a big head") make a claim for exceptionalism. And why would I want to learn that she was finishing the glasses of champagne (such an exquisite taste at three!) of the guests of her "diplomat" father? This book is as annoying as the self-indulgent banter of a smart-ass child who has been told many times (by her parents) that she is so smart and so cute.
Unfortunately, there are still some guests lingering and watching the infantile woman play cute. The French reading audience amazes me. The woman with the big hat is their cult figure! No wonder Michel Houellebecq emigrated to Ireland.