Self-worth by Emma Tholozan

Thanks to the efforts of translator Emma Ramadan, English language readers can now enjoy this absolutely brilliant novel by French author Emma Tholozan. It is such a bizarre and provocative story which will readily capture readers’ interest and keep them intrigued until the end. Imagine being in a relationship with a lover who vomits up money, Euro notes that need to be cleaned and hung up to dry, pegged on lines across a tiny apartment. At what point would the excitement of instant wealth overtake concern for the human money machine becoming more frail and exhausted with each expulsion? This is the moral dilemma Tholozan explores.

It all begins when Anna, a philosophy graduate, meets Lulu at a celebratory end-of-year party, and the attraction is instant. Anna’s world is that of intellectuals and academics, exploring philosophies, theories and ideas; studies that have no application in the working world. Lulu is different, his hands are rough, he hasn’t been to university, his obsession is fixing broken appliances. When he moves into her apartment he doesn’t have the usual baggage, none of the assorted household items and memorabilia; he just brings two gorgeous budgerigars in a cage. He actually lives the non-materialistic life that Anna and her friends purport to espouse.

But then everything changes when Lulu becomes strangely ill, and when he vomits he brings up screwed up Euro notes coated in saliva. Suddenly Anna can buy the designer bags she previously scorned, she can buy expensive fashions, travel to exotic locations and mix with the superficial wealthy elite. She revels in being one of those beautiful people you see in magazines. Former relationships no longer matter, her obsession with the rich lifestyle becomes overwhelming.

The question becomes one of human values: how far would you go, how many people would you hurt to get what you want? How far can a relationship stretch when each person wants something different? Tholozan’s novel is a scintillating expose of both the shallowness of consumerist society, and of over-indulgent intellectualism. She grounds her moral questions in a scenario where the repercussions of the consumerist drive create actual physical consequences for the people concerned. The more Anna craves money, the more Lulu deteriorates. It becomes quite grotesque, but it is fun, and highly thought-provoking as well. It's a short novel with a punch that will stay in your thoughts long afterwards.

Themes: Philosophy, Consumerism, Morals, Relationships.

Helen Eddy