It was the literary sensation of 2023 in France, winning a series of awards, including the prestigious Prix Femina. He is a candidate for the European Witch. It will arrive in Italian bookstores on April 30th for Neri Pozza and will be presented at the Turin Book Fair on 12 May. Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno (translation by Luciana Cisbani) is a book that is difficult to classify, the author defines it as “hybrid” because it is not an autobiographical novel and it is not an essay, but it has elements of both. It is a work whose literary form makes it possible to approach a terrible theme such as incest. As a child, Sinno was abused for years by her stepfather. Now in her twenties, she reported him: he confessed, was sentenced to 9 years in prison, served 5, got out and started his life again. She never stopped thinking about it. She speaks to us from her home in Mexico, where she lives today.
In the book he dismantles two recurring clichés: that talking about a trauma helps to “get rid of a burden” and that “writing is “therapeutic”. Why? «We all tend to use clichés to simplify reality, but in this case I have proof that they are not true. I think it’s impossible for me “get rid of the burden”. My vocation for writing, then, does not arise from trauma, nor do I feel better when I write about it. Generalizing is normal, it is used to understand reality and defend ourselves from it. But literature is a protected space that allows you to explore poorly lit places, to seek complexity and ask questions. My book, in fact, does not provide answers: it is an exploration that I share with the reader.”
He doesn’t omit anything, but his doesn’t sound like a confession and the reader doesn’t feel overwhelmed by horror. How did he do it? «For years I rejected the idea of an autobiographical story, because I knew that the topic could hit you in the gut and it wasn’t what I wanted. But to write Sad Tiger I had to accept that there was also a testimonial aspect: my philosophical reflections they wouldn’t have been able to get far if I hadn’t told them about my experience. To immediately free myself from this “obligation”, I warn the reader on the first page that it is a terrible story, with a child victim and an executioner. Then, however, I move on to the analysis of Nabokov’s Lolita, a way of telling the reader: I hold your hand, I won’t abandon you, in this book you will find much more. Violent emotions such as fear, suffering, disgust must be explored at least a little, but since I place myself in the literary tradition of writers such as Christine Angot, Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou who told horror stories before me, I can allow myself to explore other points of view. But without ending up in abstraction.”
In fact, he calls things by their name and spares no details. Why did you consider it necessary?
In reality, the details are few, but since they come after a few lines, they remain imprinted. I understood their importance after analyzing Nabokov’s text. I have reread the chapter where the first violence occurs many times. The reader cannot ignore what is happening – the rape of a twelve-year-old – but because the details are missing it is easy to dismiss. It’s not a comfortable place to be: neither as readers, nor as narrators. Talking about having been a victim of violence creates shame. Every time I did it with a person important to me I experienced a constellation of feelings: the trust I granted her, the need to appeal to her empathy and intelligence, the duty to protect her. And the shame. But overcoming it was essential if I wanted to establish an authentic relationship, because that experience is part of me. Similarly, in the book through the shame of revealing details to achieve a more important purpose, open your eyes. Violence against children exists and must be analyzed. Also because it is a widespread phenomenon: since the Commission of inquiry into sexual violence against minors was established in France, the figures have started to circulate and we are talking about one in ten.
He questions himself about the origins of evil: has he found answers?
Perhaps only one: the existence of free will. Because we always make a choice. If I were to think that this is not the case, that there is a determinism that takes away the possibility of deciding and therefore of changing, I would not be able to live. I don’t deny reality, but I think that the concept of individual freedom – and therefore responsibility – is fundamental. Anyone who rapes a child may be driven by all the causes in the world, but there is a precise moment in which he chooses to do so. And there is a precise moment in which we choose not to do it. It is on this choice that our humanity is based.
Is there also a social responsibility?
Yes, it is no coincidence that patriarchy is under accusation. Sexual violence always comes from men because society places them in a position of power, which they can abuse by choosing evil. Everyone who deals with children, from parents to teachers, risks abusing their position, even without committing serious acts. It is up to each of us to identify the boundary not to be crossed.
When she reported her stepfather out of fear that he would harm her younger sister, he said it would never happen because she was “his blood.” Does it really make a difference?
No. Yet for many it is like this, which is why I talk about it. It’s one of the contradictions of our society: since it’s a topic we don’t want to think about, we seize any excuse to remove it. Does the fact that my stepfather didn’t abuse others after me make it any less serious? Is it less serious to abuse a child who is not your blood, who is fourteen instead of seven, to do it only twice instead of a hundred? These are not logical arguments, even if they seem so. Yet my sister allowed herself to be convinced and I believe that this is what allowed her to stay in contact with her father.
Sad tiger
She says that her main gift, courage, comes from what happened to her. It can’t be easy to admit that something good came from horror…
No, I agree with Roberto Bolaño when he says that courage is a literary virtue because the writer is like a samurai: he faces a monster bigger than himself knowing that he won’t win, and yet he keeps going. It is difficult to think that this quality that is so fundamental to me derives from the violence I have suffered, but I can give a positive interpretation of it, that is, that something can also be built from obstacles. I mean this in a practical sense, not a spiritual one. I can’t stand people who tell me, “Everything happens for a reason.” I have no doubt that my life would have been better if I hadn’t experienced what I experienced.
She has never turned to a therapist: what helped her?
I received a lot of love. Thinking about it, perhaps the tool that most allowed me to rebuild myself was reading, the great joy of my existence, the space in which I feel fully alive. I say that I have never done therapy because I believe that there are people like me, who grew up in environments where it is not customary, who still find a way to live with what happens to them. A friend of mine says it’s like having a wooden leg, something you’re always dragging around. Therapy is a great opportunity: I could do it today, but I haven’t had the courage yet. Because due to my past I struggle to trust figures who represent authority, from professors to doctors, and because I fear putting at risk the balance that, for better or worse, I have managed to build for myself.
She defines herself as a victim but doesn’t have the tone: does anything change?
Another cliché that I wanted to dismantle is that of resilience. Of those who say: “We need to manage the trauma so as not to just be victims.” It seems more correct to say that I am a victim and always will be, even though today I know that I am also something else. At a meeting with some young people I was asked: “In your opinion, what effect would your book have on a person who has committed or could commit violence against a minor?”. I had never thought about it. By creating an aesthetic, philosophical and literary work, I wanted to offer readers the experience of entering the head of a woman who was raped as a child and thirty years later is still permeated by that experience. So I answer like this: reading my book won’t stop someone from doing harm. But it will certainly prevent him from closing his eyes.
