Born to a single mother in a household ruled by the violence of their grandfather, with whom they live, a mute child grows up on the margins of society. Never schooled, invisible to the world, they survive only through the books they borrow from the library where their mother works.
Until one day, when their grandfather’s humiliations and aggressions repeat for the umpteenth time, and their mother decides to put an end to it once and for all. She flees, leaving the child behind. For a time, they manage on their own before being hospitalized. Then comes Casque de cuivre (“Copper Helmet”), a woman they once crossed paths with at the library, who decides to take them under her wing. Thus begins a healing road trip—a journey toward liberation and self-(re)construction, as they search for a place in a world that, through its categorizations, norms, and violence, has never ceased to reject them.
A hymn to sisterhood, this powerful and delicate text also invites new alliances with minerals, animals, and plants. It celebrates the power of imagination and words, offering a response to André Breton’s question: “Doesn’t the poverty of our world depend on our power of enunciation?”
