"THE READER" "You've taken my book." " Still reading?" " My eyes hurt." " Then, sleep." " I'd rather read some more." " Then, read." " My eyes hurt." "Then..." " You know I read badly." " You read very well." " And I've a pretty voice." " And you've a very pretty voice." " It's short." " It'll take an hour." "An hour and a half." "Where were you?" "Here?" ""My friend Françoise said:" "Marie, you've a lovely voice."" "That's just like me." "Darling..." "Guess..." "I've got news." "Promise you won't be angry?" "You know I saw the doctor this afternoon..." "No!" "Yes." "Charming compliments as always, no news, close brackets." "I open the garage door, get in the car, reverse." "Instead of the garage," "I go into a car parked nearby..." "It was Bélu's." " Bélu's car." " And ours?" "The front is untouched." "You promised not to be angry." " Isn't that news?" " Read." "And stop interrupting yourself." "Yes, darling." ""My friend Françoise said:" "Marie, you've a lovely voice."" "And it's a pity that you don't use it." "Actually, I've decided to place an ad." " "Pretty voice seeks outlet."" " You think..." "More modest:" ""Young lady, educated, loyal, pretty voice, seeks employment."" "More sophisticated:" ""Intelligent young lady, refined, gifted with pretty voice..."" "More direct:" ""Intelligent, cultured..."" "Instructor?" "Protector?" "Serenader?" "Reader!" ""Françoise is sweet, but her naivety is disheartening." "Reader."" ""In the age of audio-books, she dreams of duchesses and ladies' maids."" ""Not at all, said Françoise..."" "It's different now:" "Invalids, disabled people, the old or lonely..." "Or bachelors." "Move." ""Bachelors..."" ""I admit her naivety can be disturbing."" ""The idea grew until I found myself in front of the ad man. "" ""He's sucking on an unlit cigar and staring at me. "" " No advice." " "He says."" "But if I was you, I wouldn't place that ad." " No way." " Why?" ""Young lady offers home reading service:" ""Literature, documents, texts."" "Phone number." "It's asking for trouble." "Believe me, I know my job." "I'm asking you to publish it, not criticise it." "You know..." "Ambiguous ads are ten a penny these days." " My ad's not ambiguous." " In that case..." " Take out "Young lady"." " And put what?" "Put..." " "Person"." " Person?" "Say "Person offers home-reading, services, etc, etc..."." "You see "person" is sexless." "How do you know?" "Well, I suppose it's up to you." "But don't give a phone number..." "Type that..." "Just the advert code... 3 issues..." "To minimise the damage." "That comes to..." ""And I leave."" ""I feel his eyes lingering on my legs."" ""Here I am at Philippe's." "He's the man in my life." "For now anyway. "" ""I love him as much as one can love a researcher who's always occupied but rarely preoccupied. "" " A man like you." " Read." ""I tell him about my plan." "He agrees." "He's not at all contrary. "" "Just like me!" "That's what I tell everyone:" ""Philippe is not at all contrary."" " What does everyone say?" " That I don't know how lucky I am." "And now..." "Just to please me..." " I've no idea." " Yes." "Choose." "I want to choose the first book with you." "I'm too busy." "I understand, darling." "Too bad." "Something easy, to begin with." "Enjoyable..." "For all ages..." "Maupassant, perhaps." "Have you read him?" ""The Hand"." ""I'm won over."" ""Enough not to wonder to whom I will read these stories this evening. "" ""The idiots put my ad in "Work from home" section. "" ""Home." "Of course." "But other people's." "Not mine. "" ""A first letter has reached the agency." "It's from a woman. "" ""She's not what I expected." "Serves me right. "" ""A reader shouldn't pre-judge their clients. "" ""She tells me her son Eric is disabled after a road accident. "" " "They don't yet know..." "...if he'll get better." "In any case, it will take time." "I do what I can but I'm his mother, so I can't help fussing." "My husband has his work, his amusements." "Eric isn't lonely, he has lots of friends." "But when I saw your ad, I thought..." "Well, I thought that a person..." "You thought that having a different person read to him might entertain him." "You were right." " Eric loves novels." "Do you?" " I do." "Do you?" "Yes, life here is so peaceful..." ""Yet peacefully." "Charlemagne and his knights"" ""Left the mountain." "Forgetting fights"" "That's grandfather." "He adores poetry." " Your fee?" " "Irredeemable idiot." "I'd forgotten."" " "If I tell her..."" " I'm working on them." ""Professionalism pays." "I assure her that we will reach an agreement. "" " May I see Eric?" " Of course, he's expecting you." "You're just the person he needs." "Here's the lady." "Eric." "May I say "tu"?" "Of course, you must." "Do you have favourite authors?" "I wasn't told you were mute." "The important thing is, I'm not deaf." " What would you like to hear?" " Whatever you choose." "Look through this and next time I'll read the one you like best." ""Alone in my room." "Far from indiscreet ears and curious eyes." "I practise." "I read to myself. "" ""I'm afraid of hearing my own voice."" ""An error." "One does not hear oneself."" "Let's see what you've chosen." ""The Hair"." ""Wandering in Paris one sunny morning," "I saw in an antique dealer's window an 18th century marquetry bureau, rare and beautiful."" "If any words bother you, tell me." "You know what "marquetry" is?" "Yes, I know." ""How singular is temptation!"" ""A need to possess comes over you, gentle, almost timid, but which grows, becomes violent and irresistible."" ""I bought the bureau and put it in my room."" ""One evening, I realised from the thickness of a panel, that there must be a secret drawer." "I spent all night searching."" ""I found it the next day by forcing a blade into a cleft in the wood..."" ""All's well." "He's listening." "And he seems to be enjoying the text. "" ""I saw, laid out on black velvet, a wonderful tress of a woman's hair."" ""Yes, a long braid of golden hair, almost red, bound by a gold string."" ""I was stunned, quivering, disturbed."" ""I held it gently, almost religiously."" ""At once, the tress unwound, its golden waves tumbling to the floor, thick and light, soft and shining like the fiery tale of a comet."" ""A strange feeling came over me..."" ""A curious boy."" ""Good." "I like this." "I continue."" ""The vivid thought of the hair never left me."" ""My hands and my heart had the confused, singular, sensual need to plunge my fingers into this charming stream."" ""When I finished caressing it and had closed the bureau," ""I had the urgent desire to take it again, to touch it, to excite myself until I felt faint."" "What's going on?" "What do you do now?" "This is the first time it's happened." "Dr Petrel is on holiday..." " An ambulance..." " Not the hospital." "No more hospital." " What did you do to him?" " I was reading." ""My God, said the mother, moaning." "You hit him, you are killing him."" ""The ambulance arrives." "The mother explains Eric's condition."" ""The doctor gives an injection." "I think it wise to repeat my version..."" "I was reading to him." ""The mother is motionless." "Petrified."" ""A single tear runs down her sorrowful face. "" ""What a mess."" ""Next day." "Expecting the worst." "I am sure of a frosty reception. "" " "A smile welcomes me."" " Take a seat." "This is the person I was telling you about." "You!" "What did you read?" "You should be careful in your job." "This is the person we were talking about." "Would you come to my office?" "You've gone mad, young lady!" "Are you irresponsible or what?" "The child had visions all night." "He spoke of hair, of a fleece." "He was choking." "What did you read to him?" " A Maupassant short story." "A classic." " Maupassant!" " You know where he ended up?" " In a mental hospital." " Well, in future..." " There will be none." "You smoke too much." "All that was a misunderstanding." "The hospital is counting on you." "The child loves reading." ""And I wonder which of us is madder."" ""I'm 100 years old and I'm bored."" ""Widow of General Dumesnil, née Countess Pasmany."" ""P.S. I've fallen out with my family, which brightens my solitude."" ""Your emolument will be according to your wishes."" ""My emolument."" "I am your obedient servant, madame." "Shall we go and see our old teacher?" "Shall we go and see our good old teacher?" ""He'd been my tutor when I was studying literature. "" ""His rule was never to seduce his students. "" ""I'd never been his mistress." "But it could have happened. "" ""I tell him how I've become a reader." "About Eric." "How it came about and how the story ended. "" ""I'm seeing Eric tomorrow."" "You always end up twisting people around your little finger." "You have such beautiful intonation." ""Ah." say I." "I've had another offer." "A general's widow." "Perhaps you should avoid Maupassant." "It won't be the hospital but the cemetery." "It's best if you don't specialize in killing your customers." "Zola." "Your friend is right, only the Naturalists count." "Have you read "The Masterpiece"?" "You must, my dear." "Here it is." "It's the story..." "No, listen:" ""It was on the previous morning that she left Clermont for Paris, where she was to take up a post reading to a general's widow."" ""A maid was to meet her."" ""A means of recognition had been arranged by letter:" ""A grey feather in a black hat."" "There you are." "You'll wear a hat with a black feather." "You forget she's Hungarian, that's why I came." "Do you know any Hungarian writers?" "I'm sorry, I still have some marking to do." "Will you tell me how it went?" "Come in, come in..." "Come closer." "Sit down." "Speak a little, to hear." "I know usually you say "to see"." "But I can barely see, so say something." "You are not 100 years old, madame." "But how pretty you are, Nouchka!" "You have the voice of a pretty one!" "Bella!" "She doesn't answer but she's there." "I swear on my cat." "Tell her, Bella, that she is pretty." " Yes, madame." " You see." "I lied, of course, in my letter." "I'm a little over 100." "And I am going blind." " And I had a passion." " Soldiers." "Reading." "How pretty." "That's just like me." "When I seduced the French lieutenant in Budapest..." "I can see it." "With my eyes closed, I see perfectly." "It was at the Embassy ball, I was sparkling." "And he..." ""If first she goes to her cousin, she will be my wife."" "You've read "War and Peace", one point to you." "And for me, a lifetime of happiness..." "Right up to this bed." "In spite of History, with a capital H." "Bella, will you bring us tea?" "She insists on dressing as a maid, I don't know why." "I don't want to cross her, because she has spiders." " Spiders?" " In the head." "No, it seems they climb up her legs." "At night, in her bed." "What do you think of that?" "It's just a phase she's going through." "Here, Nouchka." "Let's try reading a little." "Marx." "Page 166." "The passage marked with a cross?" "Yes." "A wonderful text on precious metals." "Read." ""Gold and silver are not the negative nature of superfluous things, that is, things one can do without."" ""...things one can do without."" ""Their aesthetic quality makes them proper materials of luxury, display and sumptuousness, necessities for festive days:" "In short, the positive form of excess and wealth."" ""The positive form of excess and wealth."" "You didn't expect that, did you?" "Perfect." "A lovely voice, very clear." "You will receive 200 francs a session." "Now, forgive me, I must sleep." "Did she tell you?" " She did." "She can't help telling." " The spiders?" " Is it true?" " Yes." " Do you want to see?" " No." "Yes." "What do you think of that?" " Am I supposed to say something?" " Yes." "No." " Yesterday..." " Yesterday..." "I had an odd adventure in this garden." "On a bench, a girl was reading a book." "It was quiet." " Then suddenly..." " Suddenly?" "Yesterday?" "I received a third letter yesterday." "From a man." "Shall I read it?" "I'll read it." ""Madame, I have seen your advertisement."" ""Chief executive officer of a large company..." " "Quarrying and digging."" " Fascinating." "Exactly, a man with land is interesting." ""I lead a very busy life."" ""The reading sessions you offer could perfect my general culture, etc..." "Your terms will be met." "If this offer is acceptable, Mademoiselle, please, etc..." "Well?" " You read like a pig." " I know." "And?" " I'd be careful if I were you." " Why?" "He starts with "Madame" and ends with "Mademoiselle"." "Most significant and not at all innocent." " Which means?" " Nothing." "Be careful." "That's all." " You like my tongue." " I like the French tongue very much." "I'm waiting for Françoise." "I've promised to withhold nothing about my new career." "My dad..." "Bye." "Come on, you really aren't up to it." "How are you?" " And you?" " Fine." " Tell me." " Fine." "Read out loud." " Why?" " To see what it's like." " No." "You read." " Why?" "To see what it's like." "Go on, read." "Hurry up!" ""The Skirt"." ""A man, one Sunday, suggests to his wife that they visit the rue St Landry."" ""Everyone knew it was the whores' street."" ""Jocelyne also knew but she agreed to go."" ""However indifferent, the girls seemed amazed to see this man strolling past them with his wife, inspecting them from head to foot."" ""She, the wife, followed."" ""Saying nothing, she also looked at them."" ""All at once, the unbelievable happened."" ""He stopped by a rather alluring redhead." "Dressed in black. "" ""He spoke briefly to her and." "without further ado. went upstairs. "" ""In three words." "He asked Jocelyne to wait. "" " I'll skip a bit..." " No." "Read on." ""Witnesses to her humiliation." "The girls displayed neither irony nor spite." "Neither pity nor compassion. "" ""Jocelyne wandered aimlessly for a while. "" ""Then." "In a fit of faintness." "She lent against a wall. "" ""She didn't even want to cry." "Or to hide. "" ""Her eyes betrayed a serene despair which invited tenderness." "For a man who was passing stopped before her. "" ""He looked into her eyes for a long time. "" ""She tried to move away but he'd taken her arm." "Rather bossily." "And was leading her away. "" "Go on..." ""He took her through a dark doorway, up a narrow staircase."" ""She was in a hotel room."" ""She saw neither walls." "Nor shabby wallpaper nor furniture. "" ""She sat on the bed and bent her head towards the carpet. "" ""He took a chair." "Sat down." "And said she was not like the others but." "In her way." "More lovely. "" ""Her eyes became so large." "He wanted to smile. "" ""As it was rather warm." "He took off his jacket. "" ""He suggested she take off her raincoat. "" ""She hesitated." "But did so." "And placed it carefully over the back of a chair. "" "I'll summarise the rest." "I'm in a hurry." " To see me." " OK." ""She was trembling."" ""He took her in his arms and removed her sweater."" ""He undid her skirt, which fell to her feet."" ""With one foot." "She pushed the skirt away. "" ""She looked at it on the floor like an unknown object. "" ""She lay on the bed, her eyes covered by her arm."" ""He took off her stockings." "Panties..."" " I'll summarise..." " No." "Please." ""Caresses." "Kisses..." "And her?"" ""Shame bound her to the bed." "Leaving her wholly abandoned. "" ""The man also undressed."" ""He opened her thighs and penetrated her. "" ""She felt a pain almost as sharp as on her bridal night." "But followed moments later." "As he moved in her." "By an illumination of her body such as she had never believed possible. "" ""He orders tea." "Brought by a maid." "She gets dressed. "" ""The street." "The girls." "Are still there." "She sees her husband in a café. "" ""She hesitates." "Joins him."" ""He begs forgiveness." "Can't understand it..."" ""She says nothing."" ""He insults himself, then says:" ""I came back after 10 minutes." "I've been wandering around..."" ""He adds, softly:" "What did you do?"" ""I wandered around, too, she said."" ""He took her hand, and she did not pull away."" ""He says:" "Jocelyne, we'll forget all this."" ""We'll stay at home on Sunday, watch TV."" ""He asks if she wants a drink." "Silence."" ""He suggests tea." "Strange, he knows she never drinks it."" ""She replies:" "I've already had one."" ""With a gesture which he meant to be affectionate, he touched her knee and stroked the fabric of her skirt." "The End."" " A cat?" "Absolutely not." " Why?" "You may be allergic to cats' hair." "Whence comes, sir, this love for cats?" "From Baudelaire, madame." ""Fervent lovers and austere scholars Both love cats."" "And you, madame, do you like this poem?" ""Friends of science and of delight"" ""They seek the silence and horror of darkness"" "Did you get that from the library?" "Show me." "It's poetry." "And yet..." ""Yet peacefully, Charlemagne and his knights" ""Left the mountain, forgetting fights"" ""The Flowers of Evil"?" " You think it's right at his age?" " Yes, I think so." "Oh, well." "How does he seem to you?" " Very well." "It is you who are pale." " Oh, me..." "My dream would be a few days in the mountains." ""Yet peacefully, Charlemagne and his knights"" ""Left the mountain, forgetting fights"" "Let's go and see Eric." "Baudelaire is a great poet." "And a great lover of cats." "We shall read this today." ""The Cats"..." "I'd rather it was this one." "Please." ""The Jewels"." "You've got good taste." ""The beloved was naked and of my heart aware"" ""She was attired with only jewels sonorous"" ""Whose rich show gave her a victorious air"" ""That on happy days is worn by Moorish belles"" ""When, dancing, it casts its lively, mocking sound"" ""This shining world of metal and of stone"" ""Thrills me to ecstasy, and fiercely I love"" ""All things in which sound is mingled with light"" ""She lay there, then, and let herself be loved"" ""With a vague and dreamy air, she tried poses"" ""And frankness coupled with lust"" ""Gave new charm to her metamorphoses"" "That dress from the other day, could you wear it next time?" "She sleeps a lot." "All the time." "Whenever she feels like it." "It's disgraceful." "Not really." "Have they gone higher up?" "I'm afraid they'll go even higher." "Suppose..." "Suppose they penetrate." "Without wanting to or wanting to?" "Without wanting to or wanting to?" "As you wish." "If I were you, I'd wear tight knickers for protection." "You think so?" "The General's widow is awake." "In you go." "Nouchka, I was waiting." "Come and help me." "You smell nice, too." "Flowers." "No, too trite." "Spring, damp earth." "Not that either." "You smell of fruit." "You're superb." "The colour is superb." "Let's start." " The same as last time." " No, I'm a reader, not a repeater." "I'm old and you mustn't contradict me." " Can I change my bedside-man now?" " Of course, madame." "Tell me how you like them." "Gorky: "Lenin and the Russian peasant"." ""What was exceptionally great in him was his ardent conviction that sorrow is not the necessary basis of being but an evil which man must and should sweep away."" "Not bad." "Or else Lenin:" ""Marx's doctrine is all-powerful because it is fair, complete, harmonious"." "Very, very good." "Or else..." "I've got it." "You smell of red fruit tea." "I'm listening, Nouchka." ""Good people, hear my lament, the story of my life"" ""An orphan recounting his boring troubles, gee up!"" "Prévert, the October Group..." "Go on, don't bother to pretend to read." ""One day, a general, or maybe one night"" ""A general had two horses killed beneath him"" ""These horses gee'd up Life is bitter"" ""It was my poor father, my poor mother"" ""Who hid beneath the bed, the general's bed"" ""Who hid behind the lines in a small southern town"" ""The general talked alone at night, generally talked of boring troubles"" ""That's how my father and that's how my mother, gee up!"" ""One night, died of boredom"" ""For me, family life was done Leaving the bedside table"" ""I galloped fast away to the big city, shining, gleaming"" ""In an auto, I reach Sabi in Paros Sorry, I'm talking horse"" ""One morning, I reach Paris in sabots"" ""I ask to see the lion, king of beasts Receive a bump on my nose"" ""As war was on, going on I get blinkered, I'm drafted"" ""As there was war, war going on Life became dear, things were scarce"" ""The scarcer they were, more I was eyed With strange eyes and chattering teeth"" ""They called me beefsteak I thought it was English, gee up!"" ""All who were living and loving"" ""Were awaiting my death, so they could eat me"" ""One night in the stables, a night I was sleeping"" ""I heard a weird sound, a voice that I knew,"" ""The old general had returned like a ghost with an old friend"" ""Thinking I was sleeping, they spoke very softly:"" ""Enough of watery rice we need to chew on red meat"" ""Just add to his oats some needles for a treat"" ""My heart missed a beat like a circus pony"" ""Dashing out of the stable I hid in the spinney"" ""Now the war is over The old general is dead"" ""Dead in his bed Dead of a fine death"" ""But I am alive and that's the main thing"" ""Good evening, good night"" ""Bon appétit, dear general"" "It's the advert." "Not funny, sorry..." "I'm not funny." "I have to admit it." "Sit down." "Sorry..." "I'm quite idiotic." "Deficient, if you prefer." "No, I like idiotic." "It's nicer." "No, not all." "You're just a little overworked..." "Yes, I do a lot of business, I work a lot." "I have a lot of responsibility." "I travel a lot, I do everything a lot." " You read a lot?" " No." "Long journeys, time-lags, sleepless nights..." "You're joking." "There's always mail, business to discuss..." " You talk a lot?" " Yes." "No." "Why?" "You know, I'm obliged to, Mademoiselle." " I'm obliged to..." " Madame." " Madame." "Yes, very well..." " Obliged..." "Success is no longer just efficiency, performance." "You also need elegance, class..." "One must be able to discuss cultural developments." "Would you like to drink something?" " Or anything?" " Yes, something." "Something, fine." "If you prefer..." "No, a whisky." "Where was I?" "I thought you might help me talk about literature." "Some opinions, some notes on books..." " All right?" " A little more." " That's a lot." " Not enough or too much." "No matter." " So?" "Can you do it?" " Is it for show?" "I'm not asking for much, extracts, summaries..." "I pretend to read your pretended reading?" "I'm sorry." "I'm a reader, not a faker." "You're deserting me?" " There are specialized magazines..." " Specialized?" "Tapes, well done I'm told." "We're deviating, madame, make it short." "Will you render the service your ad suggested and sell me... your voice?" " And your wife?" " My wife?" "Your wife, can't she read to you?" "Separated, we're separated." "For over a year." "Believe me if you like, I live all alone." "Not even a cleaning woman." "I do have one, three minutes a week, that's all." "Well, dear sir, I'll consider it." " Should I read Duras or Dumas or both?" " All three." "All three?" "As you wish, whoever you like." "Tell me." "No, don't tell me." "Consider it." " Come back." " Duras, I don't think so." "Come back soon." "Caught in the rain?" "Take it off." " You're soaked." " I didn't realise, it's full of holes." " Can we read now?" " Just a minute." "May I?" "Today I'll read a story of water." "I borrowed it from a friend." ""We were returning from Hydra..."." "A Greek island." ""...from a major meeting of Mediterranean sociologists..."" "Sorry..." "May I?" "I just wanted to check." "Perfect..." "I'll leave you." ""We had decided, Norma, Michel and I, to prolong our visit by a private stay on another island, much smaller and wilder, whose name I shall withhold."" ""Michel is my friend, Norma his wife."" ""She laughs, she has amber skin, hazel eyes."" ""She's 30 and the heroine of this strange story."" ""It was May, when it is already very hot in the Cyclades."" ""We'd been told that the island offered shade, coolness, and all sorts of advantages." "Above all, there was water."" ""It was invaluable."" ""In particular, there was an precious spring which gushed from a rocky crevice between tamarisks and a gnarled olive tree."" ""Norma saw it first." "I still see her, moving barefoot towards the sunshot fountain, kneeling to catch the sparkling water in the palm of her hands."" ""Her shirt, tied in a large knot above her waist showed..."" "Go on..." ""...showed, as she bent over, a broad strip of golden skin."" ""The water was plentiful, clear, lovely."" ""She splashed her arms and her face."" "You're pretty today." "Is she awake?" "Did the knickers do the trick?" "Yes." "No." "Would you like to see?" "No." "Yes." "As you wish." "Those knickers are really dreadful." "It's the revolution." "Bella..." "Tea, if you please." ""Comrade Stalin, now general secretary, holds in his hands unlimited power and I'm not sure he always uses it with enough circumspection"." "End of quote." "Author?" "Lenin?" "December 25, 1922." "I don't recognize uncle Joseph..." " He was at the seminary in Georgia." " That explains it..." "Now let's read, Nouchka." "What did you bring?" ""Michael Strogoff' or "General Dourakine"?" "Babouchka, let's be serious." "Let's go back to "War and Peace"." ""Next day, Prince Andrei recalled the previous night's ball but his thoughts did not linger."" ""Yes, it was a brilliant ball and little Rostov was charming."" ""She has a freshness, not from Petersburg, which sets her apart."" ""That's all he thought of the ball and after tea he sat down to work."" ""While I continue with Chapter 18 of Tolstoy's masterpiece." "I hear the door open slowly." "Bella probably. with the tea. "" ""No." "The mauve cat has come to spy on us. "" ""I called on the agency man." "To ask him to run my ad again. "" ""I assured him it was all going smoothly. "" "Well, if you have problems don't complain to me." "Same text?" "No, between "literature" and "documents", add "poetry"." "One more word, 10 more francs." "What a mess." "Poetry..." "Words like that ruin everything." ""I held out." "A small challenge, but important." "It bore its fruit."" ""I received a charming letter."" ""Elegance of feeling, discreet humour, pretty paper, nice writing."" ""In short, a very busy mother, aware of her responsibilities, wants me to help Coralie, aged 6, discover poetry."" ""I'm with the lady, I listen..."" "Mother's coming." "Mother works hard, not a minute to herself." " Will she have one for me?" " I thought you came for me?" " And will it suit?" " It will." " And Papa?" " Papa is on a business trip." "Mother ordered books but she can't read." "Mother, say hello to the lady." "How delightful." "You're very sweet." "You're both sweet." "I'm sure you'll get on." "What will you read?" " "Alice in Wonderland"." " What a lucky girl." "Oh dear." "I'm going to be late." "She's sure to forget her gloves." "I've brought a beautiful work by Marguerite Duras," ""The Lover"." ""Fifteen and a half." "It's the crossing of the river."" ""I'm wearing a silk dress." "It's worn, almost transparent."" ""It was my mother's." "One day, thinking it too light, she gave it to me."" ""This dress is sleeveless and very low-cut."" ""It has the brownish tones that silk takes on with age."" ""It's a dress I remember." "I think it suits me."" ""I wear a leather belt, belonging perhaps to one of my brothers."" ""I do not recall the shoes I wore during those years, only certain dresses."" ""Mostly, I am barefoot with canvas sandals."" ""That day I must wear those high-heels in gold lamé."" ""I don't see what else I could have worn that day."" ""So I wear them."" ""A reduced bargain my mother bought me."" ""I wear the gold lamé shoes to school."" ""I go to school in evening shoes decorated with little paste jewels."" ""It is my wish..."" "Admirable..." "Unquestionably admirable." "How can one resist?" "You, you are admirable." "It's you I want, not the book." "I've thought of nothing but you since our last session." "Look..." "Look at us." "Don't you think we suit each other?" "No." "And this way?" "I'm free, so are you, let's get married." "No." "Not free?" "But why aren't you?" "It's a tragedy." "No, I am free, a little, quite free, or not, it depends." "But I don't marry." "It's my fault." "Because I lied." "It's unworthy." "Why didn't I admit it all?" "You guessed?" "Mental block." "I take a book, you take a book, I fall asleep." "So I thought that with your voice I could at last enter..." "There." "You'd have been my redeemer, my initiator, my muse..." "No." "I am your reader." "Not just a reader?" "You're a bit something else?" " No." " Well, then read." "But I fully intend to take this further, believe me." "Well, then I'll read." ""It is not the shoes that are unusual, unparalleled, that day, in the girl's attire."" ""What it is, that day, is her hat, a man's hat with a flat brim."" ""Soft, rosewood-coloured felt with a wide black band..."" " The first sentence again." " Did I wake you?" " "It is not the shoes that are..."" " No, the first one, earlier on." ""Fifteen and a half." "It is the crossing..."" "Go on." ""I am wearing a silk dress." "It's worn, almost transparent..."" "That's it." "That's how I am." "A sentence like that kills me." "This worn dress kills me." "You kill me, Mlle." "A shiver, quivers of desire overcome me..." "It's beautiful." "You're listening, you're unblocked." "Believe it or not, I haven't made love for six months." "That's it for today." "Goodbye." " Did I scare you?" " Not at all, why?" " I was afraid that..." " You were afraid." " You love him?" " I don't think so." "You?" " Do I love him?" " No." "Do you think I do?" "I don't think so." "I think you love me." "Me too." " You, too, think you love me?" " I, too, think you love me." "Me too." "And you?" "Me too." "You, too, love me?" "I think so." "Me too." ""I cannot be said to behave rashly:" "I also consult the university. "" ""As expected." "My old teacher is dismayed. "" "You'll ruin everything." "If it amuses you to sleep with this CEO, who's probably a bankrupt cry-baby, go ahead, my dear, go to bed." "But remember, you placed that ad in order to read." "If you really want my opinion, you'd do better to stick to reading." "That is my opinion." ""I'm so happy." "At last he has spoken out." "My old teacher. "" ""But why do I always want to do the opposite of what he says?"" ""I think I've made my decision."" " Hello, Marie." " Hello, Coralie." " Hello, monsieur." " Mademoiselle." "We'll read in my room." ""I can hear music."" ""She's going to play a trick."" ""Alice, sitting on the bank by her sister, was beginning to tire of having nothing to do."" ""Once or twice, she'd peeped in to her sister's book but it had no pictures or conversations."" ""And what use is a book with no pictures or conversations, thought Alice."" ""She was wondering whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain was worth the trouble of picking them, when suddenly, a White Rabbit with red eyes ran close by her."" ""This was not so very remarkable."" ""Nor did Alice think it very strange to hear the Rabbit murmur:" ""Oh dear, oh dear, I shall be late."" ""But when the Rabbit took a watch out of its waistcoat pocket looked at it and then hurried off, Alice jumped up."" ""It flashed... across her mind that she had never seen a rabbit take a watch out of a waistcoat..."" " Let's go out!" " Next time." "It is next time." "Say yes, Marie." ""I say yes." "Unwisely." "Once again. "" " A fair, can you hear?" " I didn't say yes." "Yes, you did." "I won't tell." " Have you got the key?" " Yes." "Give it to me." "May I?" "It's my turn." ""She sees it all." "Now." "Not only kidnapping but organized robbery. "" ""She calls the Inspector."" ""She can barely talk." "Trembling with pain and anger. "" ""He asks for descriptions of Coralie and myself. "" ""Happily." "Less than an hour later." "Coralie is there and so am I. "" ""I plead guilty." "I do what I can to disarm the mother." "But she won't disarm. "" "Alone with the rabbit!" "Had I died, you idiot, it would have been your fault!" "You've spoilt everything." ""Realising the gravity of her misdeed." "Coralie cries and rolls on the floor. "" ""How can I put an end to this disaster?"" ""I won't see Coralie and her mother for some time. "" ""Serves me right for abandoning reading in favour of having fun. "" ""I rarely cross the public garden in N..., the small town where I live."" ""But from some months, I've heard only awful things about it."" ""Women are attacked, homosexuals harassed, people robbed, drugs are sold, major and minor deals are done."" ""So I decided two weeks ago to go and take a look."" ""What happened is almost unbelievable, I was..."" "What happened to me!" "I don't know about him, but me, you can't imagine." "No, I can't." "I can't." " That's it." "Come." " Where?" " Where?" " Yes." " My room." "You said yes." " Yes." "I was sure that you'd keep your knickers on." "I knew from your face that you'd keep them on." "That's right." "And from my bum that I'd keep on my glasses." "It's terribly hypocritical to keep your knickers on." "Many African tribes, I often go to Africa," "Australians too, or Oceanians, I don't recall, never mind." "I don't go there, but I'm assured." "How do they say "hypocrite"?" ""Knickers", they say "knickers"." "Hypocrite, knickers." "I'm very moved..." "So... so moved, no other word." "Feel, feel my pulse." "You feel how it's beating?" "Come." "Have mercy." "Don't be a sadist." ""I'd been walking for a while between clipped thujas and yews, and I'd reached a sort of lawn arranged for children, a small pool in the middle surrounded by benches."" ""On one of them, a young girl was reading a book..."" "Your voice." " It's all your voice." " My voice?" "It penetrates as far..." "I've never heard such a voice..." "Marie, look." "I'm shivering." ""I'd been watching this girl, when the event took place."" ""Two youths, I was tempted to think hooligans, appeared near the bench, sat down on either side of her, clearly intent on bothering her and making her react."" ""They began by making remarks, doubtless intended to be funny, but which only made her concentrate on her reading in an attempt to escape, make herself totally deaf and dumb."" ""Their words and laughter flew around her in a rather sinister game."" ""Finally, she shut her book and stood up."" ""One of them seized her wrist and forced her to sit down."" ""The other, without hesitation, put his hand on her knee and tried to slide it under her skirt."" ""She screamed, pulled down..."." "I knew I wouldn't have time." " It was too much." " Or not enough." "Come on, all this couldn't be more normal." "Couldn't be." "Calm." "Relaxation." "The body relaxes." "The mind relaxes." "And for that... nothing better than a little reading." ""She screamed, quickly pulled down her skirt."" ""They moved closer to her until they held her as if in a vice."" ""I wondered if I wasn't dreaming, if it wasn't a hallucination."" ""But the smaller of the two youths, put a hand on her breasts."" ""The other took out of his pocket a switchblade and, after springing the blade, used it to slit the girl's blouse, as though intending to uncover her bust."" ""Tension rose from minute to minute." "I could hardly breathe."" ""What happened next seemed to me totally astonishing."" "You've never seen speaker women?" "I wondered if black suited them." "Maybe a pale mauve." "Or raspberry pink." "You have a lovely, a very lovely bust." "I suggest..." "No, you'll catch cold." "I'll turn up the heating, if you like." "I can put on an electric fire..." "I have one." "Two, in fact." "Bottoms up." "There, it's all over now." "Back to beddy-byes." "In love nothing should be hurried." "Things should be made to last." "Refined..." "Infinite..." "So I am going to continue reading." ""The two hooligans abruptly changed their attitude."" ""The knife disappeared, a whistle blew behind me."" ""Two policemen stopped me, asked to see my papers."" ""They told me I probably did not know about failure to assist a person in danger."" ""I couldn't understand it."" ""They explained it had all been staged."" ""The two hooligans were in fact..."" "No reading, not now..." "Dear sir, please remember I came to read you books," "and I fully intend to take this further." "Very well..." "OK." ""A rolling feeling takes over my body."" ""It's like a boat, a voyage."" ""He begs that this voyage never end."" ""I tell him that it will end, like all voyages"." ""I am astonished to be summoned to the police station."" " Inspector, the lady was upset..." " Please quite rightly, but she was reunited with her daughter and jewels." "I know that very well." "But you also know what routine is, a little routine enquiry?" "We don't have the littlest thing against you, I insist." "I can forget the little girl, your little ad, but all of that has aroused a little curiosity." "That's why I asked you to pay me a little visit." "And I'd be curious, Inspector, to know if I contravened, in even the littlest way, the regulations of my profession..." "I'd point out that it is not a profession." "That's why it is not regulated." "And as it's not regulated, on a purely personal note, I would advise caution, that is all." " I have no more to say." " On a purely personal note, nor do I." "Himself...?" "Sorry." "Thank you." "Delighted to have met you." ""It would seem I now have a career and even a certain renown. "" ""Unless the Inspector was flattering me. "" "I think I have pretty skin." "So smooth, not a mark." "Just a little pale." "I'm going to tan, just a little." "I've started reading." "It's not unpleasant, but as for making a career of it..." "Go on, the general's widow is waiting." "What's this I see?" " No." " Three little spider bites?" " Yes." " No." "You must cut your hair, my dear." " Good Lord!" " Be quiet, come and help." "Bend down, pull them out..." "But why the flags, madame?" "Today is the anniversary of Lenin's death." ""Today is also Eric's birthday."" ""His mother insisted I attend the party. "" ""She even said there would be a surprise. "" ""The Most Beautiful Love Poems in French Literature"." " What a good idea." " I hope it's all right." "Thank you very much, madame." " You shouldn't have." " It's a pleasure." "I have a gift for you, too." "A present for me?" " It's pretty." " A bed-jacket." "You need it for reading in bed." "It is really too kind." "And it's a surprise." "I love surprises." " No, that's not the surprise." " Try it on, let's see." " Over the sweater you can't tell." " It'll give us an idea." "It suits you very well." "Well done, mother." "What a pretty bed-jacket." "Surprise." "Here is the pretty reader." "Stay there." "I'll bring the tea." "Joël's mother works in a hotel, in room-service." "What's it like in a hotel?" "Things must go on." "Less than in a novel." "Go on, blow." "Lights out." ""Peaceful yet, Charlemagne and his frights"" ""Left the mountain, forgetting lights"" "My bed-jacket will get marks on it." "It would be a pity." "Why does one decide to read to strangers?" "I don't know." "To talk." "Maybe." "Because words one likes." "One wants to share." "That's nice." "Reading a lot." "Doesn't one want to invent stories?" "No." "I have no imagination." "I've had too much to drink." "Boys, let's read a little." "My 15th birthday, I'm starting to regress." ""The Blind man and the Paralytic"." ""Brothers Pierre and Paul disliked one another."" ""So when Paul was knocked down by a mad horse and was paralysed," "Pierre was not sad."" ""When Paul, through the attic window of the room where he lay, saw Pierre brought home, his face bloody, his eyes dead, he felt avenged and was ashamed."" ""They both suffered and did not speak."" ""They both dreamed of the distant sea of which all speak, but which no one knows who has not tasted it."" ""Pierre confessed:" ""I will never go to the sea, for I live in darkness and would lose my way."" ""And Paul answered:" ""I will never go to the sea, for my legs will not carry me."" ""They understood and left, the blind man carrying the paralytic."" ""Pierre did not let Paul know how he tired under him."" ""Paul did not say how his eyes wearied from seeking their path in darkness, fog and rain."" ""In the morning, a new scent is in the air, an unknown wind blows."" ""They have reached the world's end."" ""Laughing, one carrying the other, they go still further into the deep sea, not thinking that they are at last brothers, for the sea burns each one's eyes and wipes out his traces."" "It's beautiful." "It's more beautiful for me." "For he cannot see you." "No." "It's more beautiful for me, for I do not have to see to imagine." ""The Passion."" ""My president is madly in love." "wants to take me to Zimbabwe where he's a chance to put his company on its feet on good terms. "" ""The state of his company affords him no choice." "He'll go. "" ""If I go too." "He'll rebuild his life." "It'll be heaven. "" "Is it true?" "I don't know if I believe you." "I believe I don't." ""If I don't go." "It will be a slow sinking into deepest Africa." ""Exhausted by work." "The mine will devour him." "He'll fall into oblivion." "And drown in alcohol. "" ""With me." "His business will flourish." "Money will flow. "" ""I will be spoilt." "Fêted." "loved." "Happy."" "Happier than with a rotten job in a sleepy town and a lover who ignores you." ""At that." "I react violently."" "My lover, you hear, is worth 1000 CEOs of your sort." "He'd never think of leaving me for Africa." "He loves me, my lover, let it be said, it's been said." ""I take advantage of his disarray to return to reading. "" ""I don't intend to allow my professional duties to come second. "" ""If he wants any favours from me." "He must listen. "" ""Or." "Exceptionally." "I let him read to me. "" ""H.B., in Sao Paulo for a conference, noticed that at certain times of the day or night, in this fabulous city, men and women were indistinguishable."" ""This strange sexual ambiguity stemmed from a particular way of dressing, of swaying hips, of hairdressing."" ""Certain totally shaved heads, on slender necks, made the uncertainty even more disturbing."" "It's a pity we're splitting." "You read very well." ""H. B, tired from a day of endless debate, went for a drink in a nightclub in a nearby street, an odd place called "Chez Dolores et Sandra"" "after the two women who ran it."" ""When he came in, they were standing motionless, in the red light of an American bar, welcoming, smiling."" ""Sandra's head was shaved, like..."" "Here." "Give it back to your wife." " Well?" " Well?" "Shall we close this chapter?" "Let's close this chapter." " Your patients?" " They come and go." "Still reading." "But you should move, my girl." "But professor, I'm travelling." ""I decided something interesting had to happen to me today. "" ""Could I count on the general's widow?"" "Come in, Douchka." "Where's Bella?" "I was wondering." "Bella has mysteriously disappeared." "But she sent a postcard." "Don't know where it is." "It's anywhere, nowhere." "Read it." " "I came..."." " Skip it." ""The weather..."" ""I obeyed Marie and I had my hair cut."" ""The hairdresser and I were so nervous the scissors slipped and cut my forehead open."" ""Out of the swelling, three small spiders escaped."" ""The hairdresser fainted."" ""The clients ran away."" ""I feel healed."" ""I think the salon is closed." "You could check..."." "Come on." "Madame, I'm a little tired." "I don't know why." "I'm very tired." "I'm frozen." "Cover up." "Let's go down." "I brought a wonderful novel..." "Epic..." "Inspired..." "Then read, Marie, I will go alone." "I'll tell you about it." "It's a small, intimate demonstration, we're not even invited." "Marie, for the last time..." "At your service, madame." "NO TO CLOSURE" "Why didn't you come back?" "Did you change jobs?" "Compliments, Majesty." "You really are nice." "Really." "The girl with the jewels?" "How charming." "The problem is, not everyone agrees." "You know, people..." "On the council, for example, there are reds and whites." "Just imagine, I had complaints from both." "The carnations were highly unpopular." "The florists felt you were invading their patch." "And this one..." "Fortunately, you were there to prevent her falling." "Had her husband seen her, from where he is, making fun of a perfectly well-organised, peaceful demonstration." "Unworthy." "Reading is fine, but look where it leads." "And you?" "Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth." "That, too, is worrying." "Terrorists, for example, I said for example look like you or me." "You particularly." "What do you do in people's houses, pretending to read?" "Did you take down madame's answers?" "It will be ready for next time..." ""This meeting told me I'd lost any hope of finding clients among the town's notable citizens. "" ""Just then." "Against all hope." "I receive a letter from a retired judge." "A solitary widower." "whose eyes let him down." "He says." "Could I lend him mine?"" "A book, you see, is our last link with the world when we can no longer be wholly present." "What a beautiful library." "I won't need to bring mine." "You will let me share your tastes..." ""I am just the person to suit him."" ""Dear Marie." "He says." "If you allow this paternal manner." "I still have things I wish to discover before dying. "" "Yes, in the field of reading, too, there are unsatisfied desires." "A rare edition." "A family heirloom, hidden for years in attic or cellar." "Today, the last of the line, I can no longer read." "Donatien Alphonse François Sade." ""The Hundred and Twenty Days..."." ""Stuck..." "I really am."" ""If I accept." "I am caught."" ""If I refuse." "I am not a reader."" ""A reader must read."" ""Read out loud." "What is asked of her. "" "Well, I will consider it." "We will see next time." "Listen, let us have a short reading today," "I'd like to hear you read so I can judge this voice of which I hear wonders." "Let us sit down." "I am listening." "A page, any page..." ""I have been had."" ""So I say to myself." "Marie don't give in to this toad." "Take heart. "" ""A month later", said La Duclos, "I had to deal with another debaucher."" ""An old rake, who having kissed and fondled my arse for half an hour, put his tongue in the hole, entered it, jabbed at it, rotated it with such art I almost thought it touched the depth of my innards."" ""Hiding my cunt in one hand, he used the other to excite his member he came as he pulled my anus violently to him, stroking me with such lubricity that I shared his ecstasy."" ""When he had done, he examined my arse a moment, stared at the hole he had enlarged, could not help but kiss it again and hurried off assuring me he would ask for me often, that he was pleased with me" "and the way I had allowed him to spill his seed."" ""My voice did not tremble or weaken." "I am pleased with myself. "" ""He." "Too." "It seems."" ""He tells me so."" "I am very pleased with you." ""I have progressed in the theory and practice of my profession. "" ""I thank him."" ""I will return."" "You are not wearing your bed-jacket?" "No, I wear it in bed at night." "Can you tell me, madame, what cestuy-là means?" "The sonnet?" ""Happy he who, like Ulysses, has been on a voyage, or like he who..."" " "...has won the Fleece." - "Cestuy-là" means "He who wins..."" ""...the Fleece."" "Why do we say, "Read the lines of the hand"?" "You do not only read books." "You can read in the stars, or in someone's eyes." " Or their lips." " Yes." "What is the Fleece?" "The Golden Fleece, you know very well." "To win it you must go on a long voyage." "And I, madame, when will I go on a voyage?" ""We remain silent." "I can barely hear his breath. "" ""Then he says very clearly:"" "Next time, could you come without your knickers?" ""I did not dream it." "He really said it."" ""My old teacher returned from a trip to Brazil. "" ""I missed him." "I want to tell him what I'm doing. "" ""But what am I doing?"" "Quite a mystery..." "I'm afraid I chose the most precarious job in the world." "At your age, with each book anything may happen." "Please, Marie, don't tell me about it." ""I want to leave." "Or to cry."" ""Or both. which would be worse."" "Don't tell me you've forgotten me." "Of course not." "I chose a souvenir for you in Sao Paulo, but..." "You are forgiven." "Go..." "It will be all right." "You'll open a school for reading." "Good luck, Marie." "You don't even know how to kiss." "You give me your ears." "Perhaps you like your ears to be kissed." "As for your mouth you just give air kisses." "It's fine, but it's not really kissing." "Look..." "I kiss you and you kiss me on the other cheek at the same time." "There, we could say we kissed." "I'm speaking, of course, about a friendly kiss, a fatherly one." "Go on, run along." "At least I've taught you something." ""Facing all dangers." "I return to the judge. "" ""Prepared."" ""I have reread Sade." "Alone." "Aloud in my bedroom. "" ""I even tried out a few pages on Philippe." "He enjoyed it. "" ""He'd always heard that Sade was boring. "" ""He was not of this opinion."" ""Philippe has anything but a mediocre mind. "" "Dear child, let us chat to become better acquainted?" ""Chat." "A charming word to make me forgive many things. "" ""Gladly." "I said..."" "Let us chat..." ""We chatted."" ""I hoped that the modesty of our words would incite the judge to more sober reading. "" "I believe it is time to start reading." "Excuse me a moment, dear child." "Gentlemen my reader." "My dear Marie, I have taken the liberty of inviting two old acquaintances..." "Yes, two old acquaintances..." "We represent, each in our own way, what people listen to in our town." "Why should we not, in turn, listen to your talent?" "And what shall I read?" "Well, my dear child," ""he says."" "The same thing as last time." ""I take my leave and slam the door behind me."" ""I'm quite sure that I'll be out of a job now."" "There you have it..." "No more reader." "I, too, have a little tale to tell." "At this time of night?" "If he's not warned, he'll be furious." "Have you ever seen Bélu furious?" "Hello, Mr Bélu?" "Did I wake you?" "I don't like that either." "You well?" "Good." "Nice weather." "Today, anyway." "Good." "Good weekend?" "Good." "So all is well." "So, my wife damaged your car a bit." "Shall we talk again tomorrow?" "Good night." "Hope you get back to sleep, Inspector." " What did he say?" " Not much." " But I think it'll damage me." " Damage me, more like." "I read very well, I have a lovely voice." "I am going to place an ad." "A lot of people can't read." "The too old, the too young, the too sad, the all-alone..." "I'm not through yet."