FROM THE AUTHOR OF TIKTOK SENSATION I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MENThere’s a voice in Aline’s head, a voice she’s long ignored. Brash, boisterous, sexually adventurous, this voice seems to be the antithesis of Aline, a prim and proper literature professor living out a dull existence in bourgeois Brussels. Aline’s life stretches on before her, each day promising to be as quiet and conventional as the last.
That is until, after thirty-five years of imprisonment, her alter ego wants out. Taking on a life of his own, Aline’s second self – Orlanda – slips into the taut, rugged body of a passing young man. As Aline continues with her orderly routine, dutifully preparing for classes, nodding along to her lover's tedious tales, Orlanda follows, dragging gleeful chaos in his wake.
In this brilliantly bizarre comedy of androgyny and double selves, Jacqueline Harpman masterfully unveils the strangeness at the heart of our gendered world. 'A magical novel on the theme of androgyny. Funny, subtle, poignant.' - Nadine Sautel
