Emma Becker: At the heart of “Evil Pretty
With her latest novel, Le Mal joli, Emma Becker explores the contradictions of love, combining carnal passion and maternal duty. The author of La Maison unveils a new, intimate universe where ardent love coexists with difficulty with filial love. We’ve read it.
Le Mal Joli is not Emma Becker’s first story of autofiction. After the critical success of La Maison in 2019, which recounted her immersion in the world of Berlin prostitution, she returns with a novel that once again questions the intimate facets of femininity. Le Mal joli, published on August 22, 2024 by Albin Michel, has already established itself as one of the favorites and controversies of the new literary season. Between selections for the prestigious Prix des Deux Magots and Prix Femina, and malicious criticism from Beigbeder.
The novel invites the reader into an ardent and painful love story between Emma, married and a mother, and Antonin, also a couple and a writer. Three seasons – spring, summer, autumn – during which Emma is torn between her home and an unfulfilled passion. Becker takes us on an exploration of the murky zones of forbidden love, where every moment shared with Antonin, from Paris to the provinces, reveals both exhilaration and heartbreak.
Criticism of the “Evil Pretty”: the mother, the woman, both
The author’s signature incisive, often raw writing is in the tradition of contemporary autofiction. Becker’s pen stands out for its ability to catalyze feminine emotions and dilemmas without filters. Emma Becker expresses desire and passion with a rare, even abrupt frankness, without seeking to sugarcoat the tensions that arise between pleasure and pain.
But beyond the carnal intensity, Emma Becker reveals the consequences of a double life. Emma’s character vacillates between the euphoria of love and the guilt of neglecting her children. This duality depicts the sacrifices and compromises that modern women face when trying to reconcile personal and maternal love. This tug-of-war is undoubtedly what makes Emma’s story both tragic and universal, reminiscent (too much so?) of the heroines of the great classics of love literature.
A daring literary tale?
Le Mal joli questions today’s society by portraying a relationship where ideological differences collide. Antonin, described as a right-wing man with controversial reading habits, contrasts with Emma, a left-wing woman from the suburbs. The author’s choice to mix private life and ideological debates, from Saint-Germain to the provinces, adds another dimension to the novel. She anchors this passion in a very real setting, that of literary Paris and its codes. A subject whose intrigues have fascinated readers for hundreds of years. But in the end, apart from the author’s point of view, there’s nothing new.
With Le Mal joli, Emma Becker confirms her place on the French literary scene. As soon as it was published, the novel was shortlisted for numerous awards. These included the Prix des Deux Magots, the Prix Femina and the Transfuge selection.
For us, this latest novel, while an interesting read, is not Emma Becker’s best. The flowery language no longer makes us blush. We look forward to discovering other facets of her talent in a future novel.
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