[Book] 'Life Before Us' by Emile Ajar ㅡ Can Somebody Live Without Love?

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It makes you laugh, it makes you cry. Your heart would ache, you would sigh. And most of all, you might feel like your head is exploding after reading this book, because your head would swirl with life, death, and, yes, love.

Source: Goodreads

The hero of this book, Momo is 10-year-old Arab boy. He's in custody of Rosa, who's a 68-year-old Jewish fat lady. Rosa used to be a prostitute herself when she was young, and now she's taking care of other prostitutes' children for money. Momo was one of those children.

Momo didn't know who his parents were. They never came to visit, and now the little fostering money sent from them came to a complete stop. Since Madame Rosa loved Momo, she didn't send him to an orphanage and took care of him herself. But now she became too sick, too fat, too old, so much so that she couldn't climb stairs to her apartment building. When people found out that she was ill, young prostitutes took their children away along with the fostering money, with which Madame Rosa was making a living. Soon only Momo would remain beside her.

To Momo, having little or no money was not a big problem. His big problem was that Madame Rosa's health was deteriorating. To lose dear Madame Rosa means to lose the whole world to him.

Even though he's 10 years old, he's not young inside. If someone was born from a prostitute and had never seen his parents in his life, then the word 'young' or 'baby' might not apply to them.

They have lullabies in France too, but I’d never heard one because I’d never been a baby, I’d always had other things to worry about.

Momo, who had never been a baby, now knew that he couldn't make his beloved Madame Rosa better, and that he had no one to turn to.

If Madame Rosa dies, if the only person who loves him dies, what would happen to him? Could he live without someone to love?

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"Can Somebody Live Without Love?"

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One of the sentences that'll linger after reading this book would be Monsieur Hamil's saying:"A person can't live without love.", which was repeated several times in various forms in this book. Monsieur Hamil is a wise old man. He traveled near and far to sell rugs, and learned many things on the road. He taught Momo what he knew, including about life and love before he went senile later. The funny thing, however, is Monsieur Hamil never said that sentence in his own words.

They all came through Momo. He said, "When I was little you told me a person couldn't live without love," and "I think Monsieur Hamil was right when he had his brains that it’s not possible to live without someone to love." in this book. But not in once did Monsieur Hamil say those words himself. He even said a complete opposite answer to that question once:

“Monsieur Hamil, can somebody live without love?”
He didn’t answer. I took a sip of mint tea, which is good for the health.
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“Monsieur Hamil, why don’t you say something?”
“You’re very young, and when somebody’s very young there are things he’d better not know.”
“Monsieur Hamil, can somebody live without love?”
“Yes,” he said, and bowed his head in shame.
I burst into tears.

Even wise old Monsieur Hamil said a person could live without love. But what happens next is important. He bowed his head in shame after uttering that answer. And Momo, instead of being sarcastic or pessimistic, burst into tears.

I guess Momo already knew the answer to that question himself. Because he kept asking Monsieur Hamil the same question again and again, even after he went senile and forgot who Momo was. Perhaps Momo already knew the answer and just wanted to hear it from other adults: the fact that we cannot live without love or without someone to love.

In this book, Momo tells you what happens in his life in the first person. The story itself is interesting and you almost think that Momo is sitting right across you and telling you about his life with a cup of tea. It takes short time to finish this book, but you need a long time to ponder its significance: what is to live, to love? Can someone live without love?

It's a shame that this book was translated in English long ago (almost 30 years ago) and seemed to be buried under the book shelf. This is a very fine French literature and with a new translation and new book design, it could appeal to more people.

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Title: The Life Before Us (Madame Rosa)
French Title: La Vie Devant Soi
Author: Emile Ajar (Romain Gary)
Translator: Ralph Manheim

Note: Won Goncourt Prize. This book was written by Romain Gary, under the pseudonym Emil Ajar. The French Goncourt Prize is awarded to a peron only once in a lifetime, but Romain Gary became the only person who received the award twice, once under the name Romain Gary, once under the name Emile Ajar.

Even after Goncourt Prize was awared, nobody came forward claiming he's Emile Ajar. So Emile Ajar had remained as a mysterious author. Romain Gary committed a suicide later, and in his will he finally revealed that he was Emile Ajar.