Viande à viol

This poetry collection revolves around one event and its aftermath over the course of one year. The text is deeply personal, mixing genres. It's an autobiographical exploration of one year in poetry form. After being r*ped by a loved one, the author's life spirals out of control. Slowly, she has to find herself again, shed the overwhelming sense of pain and guilt, heal. But healing is an isolating process in a world where all the pressure is put on victims instead of the aggressors. Add to this the confusion and alienation resulting from being hurt by someone you deeply loved. Marine Peyrard beautifully paints the emotional struggle, the taxing necessity to revisit over and over again the night that changed everything. Starting off with a shattered self, she takes every piece one by one and places them back together. Every line is haunting and powerful. This is not only an exploration of pain but also an ode to all r*pe survivors. We need powerful texts like this that actively dismantle the idea that women are exclusively attacked and r*ped in dark alleys by predatory strangers. More often than not, the predators are not strangers at all.

A 5 stars read for me. I wholeheartedly recommend this and I am looking forward to reading future writings by this author.