Great Translations: Sans Moi by Marie Desplechin
A young single mom hires a 23-year-old prostitute (supposedly ex-) and drug user (supposedly ex-) to be her kids’ babysitter. In the first go-round the mother has to chase away drug dealers who come to the door looking for the young woman. The story is one of the evolving relationship between the two women as they learn to help each other and save each other in times of impending disaster. The women alternate as caretaker and caregiver with each other.
The Setting: Most of the story takes place in an apartment in modern-day France, most likely Paris. The book is translated from the French (“Without Me”).
The Story: Both women have busy sexual lives with multiple male companions, some of whom are married men. The older woman is in love with a man she does not go out with. The younger woman occasionally goes to orgies, among other things.
Some SPOILERS FOLLOW:
Little by little the mother (and we, the reader) learn of the harsh past life of this 23-year-old. She comes from a bizarre family with anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant attitudes and where the family goings-on have involved drugs, violence, child molestation and incest.
The older, single mom writes free-lance PR copy for a living, always wondering where next week’s paycheck is coming from. She hates this…
