„DIX-SEPT ANS” ÉRIC FOTTORINO

    "Dix-sept ans" is an autobiographical novel. The author presents us the fate of his mother Lina, who at the age of 17 gives birth to her first son,  Éric Fottorino, that's the writer. However, it is not the story of Lina that is a key element here, but the path of the author to find in himself the love for his mother and his identity. It is for this purpose that the author goes to Nice, the city where his mother lived and where he was born, spending only three days there. Visiting the city, he tries to find his seventeen-year-old mother in it.

    It is worth adding a few words about the author himself. His biological father is a Moroccan Moshé who was a Jew. It was about him that Éric wrote "Questions à mon père" (2010). However, Moshé abandoned his son and Lina, in time associating with another woman. Over time, her mother meets the Tunisian, Michel Fottorino, who adopts Éric and gives him his last name. The second father is also devoted to the novel, which appears under the title "L'Homme qui m'aimait tout bas" (2009). "Dix-sept ans" is therefore a novel complementing the author's cycle, which revolves around the topic of searching for its identity.

    The narrator "Dix-sept ans" is the author himself. He leads his narratives in a very intimate way, honestly describing his feelings and thoughts, which allows the reader to thoroughly follow the process of discovering his love for his mother. An interesting element of the narrative are direct phrases to the mother, which emphasize the attempt to understand Lina's behavior towards her son.

    

    I positively appreciate showing the process of understanding and loving your mother who has been thoroughly presented. The reader can analyze the next stages of getting closer to his mother. The theme of the work is also very interesting. It seems that the love of a parent is something natural and undisputed. The author, however, shows us that sometimes it takes several decades to find this feeling. In my opinion, the downside of the novel is the monotony that sometimes appears, which distracts the subject from curiosity.