Liz reviewed Pisti, 80 Rue de Belleville by Estelle Hoy
New Narrative with Paris, oysters and wonders about art, sex and politics
5 stars
Elke, a precarious academic and writer, is on her way to an artist residency in Corrèze but before that, she is spending the evening and the night at a political meeting/party in Paris hosted by Pisti, an anarchist whose never-ending tirades are both terribly exciting and absolutely insufferable. Experimental in its form and extensive use of quotes and elements from a huge number of literary references, the narrative is nevertheless driven by Elke's quest for a kind of honesty, which is definitely not to be confused with a search for authenticity. Whatever action, art performance or orgy takes place in the book, this seeking for accountability operates through a constant multi-layered decentering, thanks to which parody and self-aware humor are not contradictory with a persistant wondering about art, sex, academia and the politics and poetics of it all.