CATHERINE​ REY

STEPPING OUT

Australian publisher : Giramondo
Translated in english (2008) by Julie Rose
ISBN 978-1920882389

« I start writing because there is anger inside me that I have to get out. I have to let myself go. There’s a rage inside me against my family, society, school, against everyone who wants to bully you, everyone who wants to keep tabs on you, everyone who wants to control you. What I think of the world, I do intend to say, loud and clear. [...] Every time something stops me from writing, I’ll flee. I’ll wipe people, countries, my job, my obligations, to be able to write. Until a pretty advanced age, the age I am when my first book gets published, no one will really know about this activity of mine [...] For most of my existence, I’ll have a surface life and a second, hidden life: writing. Until I reach thirty-eight, there will be two of me. It's a bit mad and completely schizophrenic. »

This is not an autofiction, but an autobiographical novel in which Catherine Rey speaks her truth. Without concession, she reconsiders her education, her family, the haunting maternal figure and her angst. Thus emerges, from the 70s to the present day, the demanding journey of a woman ready to free herself from her chains to satisfy her need to write.