There’s a Monster Behind the Door
The name Dessaintes is one to reckon with. A bombastic, violent and increasingly dangerous clan, little do they know that their downfall is being chronicled by one of their own.
This is La Réunion in the 1980s: high unemployment and low expectations, the legacy of postcolonialism. One little girl makes a bid for escape from her sadistic parents’ reign of terror and turns to school for salvation.
Rich in the history of the island’s customs and superstitions, and driven by a wild, offbeat humour, this picaresque tale manages to satirize the very notion of freedom available in this French territory, and perhaps even the act of writing itself and where it might lead you.
‘Mother – mystical, fervent, passionate – ran back and forth, screamed like a wild boar with its throat cut and flung herself prostrate in our sweet potato patch.’
Winner of Grand Prix du Roman Métis (2020)
Winner of Prix André Dubreuil du Premier Roman (2020)
Gaëlle Bélem
Gaëlle Bélem is from Réunion. She is the author of two novels in French – Un monstre est là, derrière la porte (2020) and Le fruit le plus rare (2023) – both published by Gallimard.
She teaches Latin, History and Geography to secondary school students and works as an associate judge in a juvenile court.
Un monstre est là, derrière la porte was awarded the Grand Prix du Roman Métis (2020) and the Prix André Dubreuil du Premier Roman (2020).
Author portrait © Photo by Francesca Mantovani © Editions Gallimard