The Baby

The Baby is a mother’s project and a writer’s project – how to reconcile these two demanding roles? What is a baby? And why are there so few of them in literature? Through notes taken in the months after her first child was born, Darrieussecq, in her characteristically ingenious style, makes observations that will bring smiles and grimaces of recognition, and raise important questions.

Along with the banal drudgery of childcare, there is the euphoria, the obsession, the terror and the visceral focus on the body. Arguing with ‘Saint de Beauvoir’, Darrieussecq examines how women as mothers are targeted from all angles. How, she asks, can a woman be more and other than a mother?

‘Darrieussecq has a force of clarity, an ability to take herself seriously without the need for self-deprecation. She is always original, always thrilling.’ Australian

‘An enchanting book…moving, funny, profound. And never sentimental.’ Madame Figaro


‘Without seeming to, Marie Darrieussecq gives us an example of what literature can achieve. It is a rare thing.’ Humanité


‘The reader will be captivated by Darrieussecq’s hypnotic style.’ Le Monde on Our Life in the Forest


‘There are few writers who may have changed my perception of the world, but Darrieussecq is one of them.’ The Times on Men