Cricket

This summer, Camille wants everyone to forget that she has grown. She bandages her breasts before boldly exploring the familiar holiday setting. But when her body betrays her in front of her loved ones, her disappointment is overwhelming. Responding like a child, she wants to hide away in the house. But with the rest of the family settled in, this space has also become hostile and threatening. Camille feels trapped. From the first page of Andrée Viollis's novel, "Criquet" (Cricket), published in 1913. "Andrée Viollis's first novel, Criquet, is an avant-garde and profoundly feminist text that surprises with its foresight. It follows Camille Dayrolles, a 'cricket' resolutely determined to be a boy. Through the perspective of a fourteen-year-old heroine, the author skillfully critiques early 20th-century society, denounces gender inequality, and offers a visionary reflection on gender." (Excerpt from the preface to the 2021 Gallimard reissue of the novel in the L'Imaginaire collection.)