Tom is Dead

‘Darrieussecq doesn’t so much write words; she’s a gale prising them out from where they hide….Darrieussecq drags you into a vortex of “after”, where the words “mourning” and “grief” are pounded into something less than ash, and where concepts of the “stages” of grief rouse laughter and violence….if you take the time to follow her into the vortex you’ll be returned to the commonplace world enlarged and admiring of a writer who forces language to go beyond itself to reconsider the ancient idea of being “mad with grief”.’

Age

‘Darrieussecq has achieved considerable acclaim as one of France’s leading contemporary writers.’

The Australian

‘Darrieussecq sharply probes the very depths of grief.’

Canberra Times

‘[A] brilliant novel…Darrieussecq expertly confronts raw emotions head-on, all the while concealing, until the last paragraph, how her boy died.’

Sunday Mail Brisbane