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Novel, 2020, Éditions du Panthéon, Paris
The Story
Therese, Franco-Lebanese, lives in Sandwich, Illinois. She decides one night to slam the door without returning back. Now that she is 37 years old, she questions her choices: leaving her home country and following her husband to the United States. Her exile, her husband’s career and the establishing of her own family kept her busy for ten years. Today, her nostalgia pushes the woman to question all those choices, for better or for worse.
Editor’s opinion in France
The wave of nostalgia that characterizes this serious and tender novel shows a beautiful portray of a woman struggling to achieve a painful but an oh so necessary independence.
Excerpt
« No, those who left aren’t those who, de facto succeeded in life. Why didn’t tell you me, my beautiful society: that your emigrants are suffering in their own upheaval and living sometimes in dire situations? Why didn’t you tell me that they are tasting every day the flavor of the separation? Why didn’t you tell me that they are not absolutely lucky? And even if that they are far from the dangers, and even if they believe that they saved their lives by fleeing from the danger and feel lucky, deep inside of them, they are hiding so much pains. »
"(...) All the questions and situations that the character evokes throughout this book echo with me and make me also aware of the path that I give to my life. Honestly, it's a book that moved me. Certainly, it is romanticized. However, reading it has led me to reflect on myself and what I wish for. As if for once, I was beginning to consider myself before others. It awakens a new special feeling about what we do with our lives" . Pralineandcie.com/2020/06/pourquoi-une-femme-une-maman-peut-ressentir-le-besoin-de-tout-quitter.html
What's New in Lebanese French Literature for Summer 2020
"Pauline Mouhanna-Karroum for a first novel on emigration and Karim Tabet for a historical and fascinating saga invite you to read and enrich the group of French-speaking Lebanese authors". LibanVision
“A first novel that highlights the Lebanese people's attachment to their homeland and skillfully dissects the vicissitudes and dilemmas of the diasporic condition. The reader follows the narrator's thoughts as she approaches a pivotal moment in her life when the will for emancipation and the weight of attachments clash. Pauline Mouhanna Karroum has written a touching and masterful first novel”. M. Dominique Cadinot, Aix-Marseille University
“Pauline’s first novel reveals a great and a promising francophone writer. A search for an identity and bearings that can resonate in the mind of every emigrant, expatriate, or frequent traveler. It also, and above all, portrays a strong, touching, courageous and tender woman in the image of its author. We look forward and for her second book…” Alexandra Cauberghs