No and Me

As an intellectually gifted and socially withdrawn teenager, Lou Bertignac filled her time by making observations about other people, conducting experiments, and keeping her mind occupied with problems. These traits worked together in a serendipitous way when she decided to focus on homelessness for a class presentation and interview a homeless girl she had observed at the train station.

Nolwenn, No for short, did not say much at first, but over the course of numerous meetings at the station and in cafés she disclosed that she was always on the move and slept in assorted locations, including a friend's place, shelters, a tent, and random homes of people she met. No smoked and drank too much, did not trust anyone, and slept lightly in fear of having her belongings stolen. She was malnourished, dirty, cold, bruised, and disheveled.

No taught Lou that homeless women were not crazy, not tramps; they had lost their jobs, run away, and had been abused and thrown out. Lou took these lessons to heart, wondering how society could send rockets into space but let people suffer on the streets. Lou would not give up on No, so she asked her parents if No could live with them in hopes that this simple act of kindness could overcome the power of the streets.

This compelling novel, translated from French, provides an eye-opening description of the causes and pervasiveness of homelessness as well as the effectiveness of the steps that cities such as Paris have taken to address the problem. Thoroughly entwined is a beautifully written story that shines an entirely different light on the bonds of family and friendship.

Lou is a precocious, introverted teen with an IQ of 160 living in Paris. Her mother is in a deep depression since the crib death of a younger sibling and her father is just trying to keep the family together. Lou attends school with much older teens and feels lost and out of place. When she begins to research a paper on the homeless she meets Nolween (No), an 18 year old homeless teen who has been neglected most of her life and is lost and alone. Eventually No moves in with Lou and her parents but her alcohol and drug use cannot be cured with their kindness.

The book explores the relationship between these two unlikely friends and how each affects the others lives. One particular quote also shows how the book addresses the problem of homelessness:

"We can send supersonic planes and rockets into space, and identify a criminal from a hair or a tiny flake of skin, and grow a tomato we can keep in the fridge for three weeks without getting a wrinkle, and store millions of pieces of information on a tiny chip. Yet we're capable of letting people die in the street" (p. 72).

This is a harsh look at life on the street interspersed with moments of tenderness. The journey Lou and No go on to explore the world around them felt real and was well done, Their characters were well developed and grew throughout the book. I did feel that the ending was abrupt, but really there is no easy solution to the problem of homelessness, so maybe I was just hoping for a different ending. This book is a good look at how people are changed by those around them, and was an enjoyable if somewhat depressing read.

This book is well written and touching but not realistic. The story works like this: someone takes a homeless person in, and everything works out okay about the person. I wish that were true, but it isn't realistic. I personally know 3 cases like this, and all three ended up with serious problems. People take in the homeless young person only to find their own lives wrecked, and the homeless one moves out back on the streets again. The homeless person has so many personal problems (not the outside problems that aren't their fault; I'm talking about their own problems like drugs and alcohol and stealing and lying)that your average nice person just can't handle it for long.

I wish things could work like the way it describes in the book, and I imagine it does sometimes. But so often, it is a bad idea to take in a homeless person, especially if one does not have training with dealing with depression, drugs, lying, and the host of problems.

I think it's wonderful to help homeless people, but one must be prepared for a tough battle. It's not going to be half as easy as the book describes.

I am surprised at the description of homeless people in Paris, France. I always imagined that France takes better care of their poor than the Americans do. Sounds like they aren't that different from our system in the US.

No and Me. And Lucas. Three kids/teens, who have all been left alone, in different ways. They all have different backgrounds. Still something puts them together to form a friendship. No is homeless. Lucas has a home, but alone. Lou has a home too, with her parents, but she still feels alone. This book is pretty short, it easy enough to read even if it has some quite serious subjects in it.

Come to think of it. I actually don't know where the homeless in my country/city are. I know that there are homeless people, places that give out food and all that. But places with people actually living on the street, I've no idea. Or haven't I just noticed? I notice the people on the street walking past me looking like they might be homeless. But I do not know where they go. Do you?

OK, so 'real fiction' sounds like an oxymoron... but the world of YA literature, which is right now drowning in vampires and werewolves (please, can't they all just kill each other off already?) and chick-lit highschool drama... is in need of more contemporary novels that really have something to say. This novel is real, it's important. It's about a schoolgirl who's normal but at the same time a bit of a misfit... who meets a homeless girl a few years older than her. She convinces her parents to let the homeless girl live with them for a while, and the two form an unlikely but strong bond of friendship. The book is NOT preachy at all; it's fascinating because there really are thousands of teenage girls living on the street, and our society still largely ignores them. This book is touching and powerful and I don't know how to say more without giving away too much. If your kids are reading way too much fantasy and teen-drama lit, put this their way... it will make them think about reading a higher quality type of book.

The last French novel I read (in translation) was Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog, which centered on a precocious girl genius who befriends a concierge... Today I finished Delphine De Vigan's No and Me, another French novel, again about a precocious girl genius who befriends... in this case a homeless girl called No. I'm not sure if the prevalence of girl geniuses tells you anything about my readings tastes or French literature. But if you're only going to read one French novel in translation anytime soon, I'd recommend No and Me.

While Lou, the narrator of No and Me, is undoubtedly a little odd, she's also sweet, shy, brutally honest about her own shortcomings, and very convincingly nervous in the world of older children and adults. Pushed ahead of her grade in school, she's the smallest kid in class, seriously in danger of becoming the teacher's pet. And no-one seems to understand why she doesn't want to give a presentation. (Any parent of shy children will relate--and any formerly shy child.)

Meanwhile No is just another of the city's many homeless young women, and it's purely by chance that she asks Lou for money. Something--a need for friendship, a need to be noticed, a need to be someone more than who everyone else assumes they are--draws the two girls together. Lou finds herself researching statistics of homelessness while learning its realities from her friend. But a child who can't switch her brain off seems in danger of exploding, and all around her Lou sees personalities falling apart--that fragile fabric between security and loss so easily torn and so hard to ignore.

Lou's own life has been colored by loss. As she relates to and eventually tries to repair her friend, new threads knit into deeper revelations. There's kindness, joy and gritty determination in this novel that never quite heals the wounds of the broken but somehow still makes them clear. There's the innocence of a young child growing up, and the sweetness of new love and old, compromise, honesty and hope.

The ending combines brutal reality with beauty in a masterful way and leaves the reader simultaneously sad and smiling and delighted to have shared in the lives told here. A lyrical, haunting, thought-provoking tale that sheathes its claws in sheer humanity.

Disclosure: My sister-in-law really does know what sort of books I'll like. I loved this gift from her.

Delphine de Vigan is a French writer from Boulogne-Billancourt, in the Parisian suburbs. "No and Me" is her fourth novel and was first published in France in 2007.

Lou Bertignac, the "me" of the book's title, is a 13 year-old girl who lives in Paris. Although her parents are well-off, her life shows that money can't guarantee happiness. Lou is an only child, following the death of her baby sister four years previously. Her mother, Anouk, has since become a virtual recluse : she lives largely inside her own head, barely aware of what's happening around her. Her father tries his best to hold things together, though he too is struggling and Lou knows how he cries in private. Life at school is little better, despite the fact that Lou is very gifted. With an IQ of 160, she has been moved two classes ahead at school - nicknamed "Brains", and struggling to relate to her classmates, she feels isolated and alone. The closest thing to a friend she has is Lucas, the boy her mother probably would have warned her about. (Lucas and Lou are practically polar opposites and she, naturally, has a massive crush on him). Lucas, a troublemaker with little interest in learning, has been held back two years.

Lou spends some of her free time at Austerlitz railway station, watching the partings. One afternoon, she's approached by an 18-year old homeless girl called meets No, who's hoping to cadge a cigarette. The little time they spend together makes a big impression on Lou, to the point where she bases a presentation at school on No's life on the streets - though, to write the presentation, she'll have to return to Austerlitz and spend more time with No. Having now tossed the pebble, the ripples start spreading.

An easily read, though very sad book - and one that would possibly make a big impression with the upper teens. (I've recently picked up a copy for a nephew; I'm curious to hear what he thinks of it). The story is told by Lou herself, so at no point do we know what's going on inside No's head - nor indeed, do we know what either of Lou's parents are thinking or feeling. There's a lot of sadness, loneliness and isolation and - although No has it worst - things are by no means easy for Lou and her family. Nevertheless, a highly recommended book.

Lou Bertignac is super-duper smart. So smart, that she skipped two grades and is a veritable pariah. Her social skills are deeply lacking due to her overactive thought process and easy ability to get lost in a daydream of thought. Despite being petrified of public speaking, her professor has demanded her subject for her oral presentation. Lou mumbles something about homelessness and is off the hook. That is until she meets No.

No is a tough-as-nails street girl who took a liking to Lou. the girls begin to meet up on a regular basis to discuss the intricacies of being a young, homeless girl. No bounces between being defensive and overly-emotional as quickly as she bounces from the soup kitchen to a friend's couch. After watching her go through this, and after the presentation is done, Lou invites No to come live with Lou's family.

The girls learn a lot about many different things, but most importantly they learn about themselves. When No's past comes back to grab her, it will take all the girls have in common, and even the things that make them different, to keep her from slipping back into oblivion. With the help of trust school hunk Lucas, Lou & No just might be able to make both their hopes into reality.

Such a powerful novel! Delphine de Vigan has earned her awards for this little gem (Prix des Libraires 2008, Révélation Roman 2007 & Prix Littéraire du Rotary). There is such emotion and force behind not only the subject matter, but the characters. These girls feel so real to me. Lou was impeccably precocious and overly-intelligent for her age, and yet she maintained a sort of innocence. No was incredibly tragic, but stoic at the same time. She wanted to be able to trust someone enough to just let go, but her need for control made that very difficult.

This book was different from some other realistic fiction books that I've read primarily because it is French. As some of you may or may not know, my undergrad degree is in French & International Studies and I studied abroad in Angers, France for a semester. My love of the language, people, and culture is something that I carry with me every day and this book just took to my heart. Homelessness is a very large problem in France and what this book did was take a taboo subject and bring it to the forefront. Mme de Vigan is poetic and unafraid to tackle difficult subject matter. For that I say "Bravo." If your French is a little rusty, don't fret, this fantastic book is coming stateside in early August. Be sure to check it out! I leave you with a small snippet of Mme de Vigan's poetic words.

"And our silence is filled with all the world's impotence. Our silence is like the return to the origin of things, their true state." p.51 of the uncorrected advance proof.

This is a truely incredible novel about the reality of life for a homeless girl and her impact on the family that wanted to save her. The detail and presentation of this author on such a truely controversial topic had me at the edge of seat throughout the story. The two main characters of this novel are incredibly detailed allowing the reader to feel the story. Lou, is a young girl that is trying to survive in a life of devistation and heartbreak; it appears as though to cope she is on a mission to discover a place where hope, joy, and happy endings really do exist. Unfortunately, her dreams lead her to the saving No. No is a homeless eighteen year old. As the story unfolds No's life is a tragedy, and I felt the struggle within myself to hope that she could find a safe and comfortable home. It soon proved that you can dress a fox like a cat, but nothing can change that a fox is a fox. No was able to acclimate herself for a short time in this family's life, but soon her true colors showed through as she began regressing to her old habits and lifestyle. As things began to unravel I felt compelled to as a mother to protect Lou from her friend; I could forsee that this could foresee obstacles that would hinder Lou's future. My most concerning obstacle was that as No began regressing to her old lifestyle that it was possible, even probable, that Lou was going to follow her friend with her compelling need to save her. Also on my list of concerns was that with a troublesome past and lack of education Lou's future would potentionally be hindered by the baggage. Like the saying, "you take the good with the bad", No being apart of Lou family for a short time proved to be benefical as well. I believe that it was best that this family experience the addition of No, but I do believe that it was something that could not last. This book will leaving you thinking long after the last page, and will be nearing impossible to forget. I love to read books that create so much emotion in the character and the reader that you will feel exhausted once completed. This is absolutely without a doubt one of those novels.

My eighteen-year-old daughter commented to me the other day that homeless people are "so annoying"...I felt utterly exhausted because I've always tried to instill a sense of compassion in my kids. Anyway, after a brief discussion of the multitude of reasons that people are homeless, I hope a left her a little less judgmental of the people in question. I bring this up because a big part of this story is Lou finding out that simply providing a house for No to live in isn't the end to all her problems. Sometimes there is a little bit more to the story...

After No moves in with Lou they are both able to open up about the heartbreaking stories they both have to tell. Throughout it all an unlikely friendship blossoms and under the influence of No's unflinching description of life in the big bad world, Lou expands her views of the world around her. When No's past comes back to haunt her, Lou is forced to face the fact that giving No a home and friendship can't fix everything (again, something I also expressed to my daughter).

I really, really, really enjoyed this book. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time I felt that story's main theme expresses that people who step up to the plate, no matter what their age, CAN make a difference in someones life. Even if its something small we can still make a change....a tiny ripple in the pond so to speak. Well written and character driven, this is a story that will resonate with readers of all ages. Recommended!