The Hurt

The Hurt is the story of a first relationship at the age of eighteen. But is it? In The Hurt time is reshuffled and mixed up. As Saint Phalle says, ‘Pain ran through my thoughts like a wild animal, making nonsense of past, present and future.’ The intriguing narrative is a beguiling mix of memoir and parable, infused with remarkable characters, humour and pathos, and Parisian light.

The author is drawn to the different and the marginalised. Her insight into herself and others arises from her deep understanding of the flawed nature of the human condition. And the company of great books. She writes ‘books were my real teachers. I can’t remember learning a single thing in a classroom. The craft of reading was the only one I really took away from that dreadful time.’

Just perhaps hurt can be both our undoing and our making, as this story of sliding time illuminates. The Hurt is a remarkably honest and captivating work of literature.

Praise for Saint Phalle’s Writing

‘Saint Phalle writes with a clear-eyed humanity and wisdom about human nature that is reminiscent of Nabokov’s account of memory and childhood.’ – Stella Judges

‘The narrating voice of the book is intensely likeable – gentle, witty, well-read and highly articulate. Yet the story it unearths circles back and back to the bewildered innocence of a small girl who is lied to, neglected, palmed off on a hired minder, then suddenly, breathtakingly indulged in ways that only a city like Paris can provide.’ – Helen Garner on Poum and Alexandre