Film/Public Viewing, Literatur/Performance

Reading and Art Film: Annie Ernaux: “EINE LEIDENSCHAFT”

Irmi Horn

Irmi Horn reads from Waiting for Bojangles. Directly afterwards, a film by Regis Roinsard, (F/B 2021) will be screened.

Waiting for Bojangles (French: En attendant Bojangles) is the debut novel by Olivier Bourdeaut, published by Éditions Finitude on 7 January 2016. It was an international bestseller. An English translation by Regan Kramer was published by Simon & Schuster on 19 March 2019.

The novel tells the story of an eccentric couple, Louise and George, and their young son. They live together in their apartment, which also accommodates Mademoiselle Superfluous, a pet demoiselle crane from Numidia, and, occasionally, the Senator. Nobody opens the mail. Each day the couple dance to the song “Mr. Bojangles”, as covered by Nina Simone. The narrative depicts Louise’s battle with mental illness and how the family struggles to cope. The novel is written partially in rhyme and is interspersed with entries from George’s diary.