The Giraffe
The Giraffe by Marie Nimier, published by Four Walls Eight Windows in 1995, is a work of fiction that explores the life of Joseph, a young man navigating his identity as an outsider in French society due to his African ancestry. Set against the backdrop of a zoo, Joseph becomes the caretaker of Solange, the giraffe, and the narrative unfolds with a precise, almost clinical observation of their unique relationship. The book spans 199 pages and is presented in English.
Readers will find a nuanced portrayal of Joseph’s complex feelings towards Solange, blending elements of both love and cruelty as he develops an intricate system of interactions with her. The story delves into themes of isolation and connection, as Joseph’s affection for the giraffe contrasts sharply with his deteriorating relationships with the human world around him. Nimier’s narrative invites contemplation on the boundaries between human and animal, as well as the emotional landscapes that define them.
Official synopsis Publisher
With a precise, almost clinical eye, Nimier lays the fantastic groundwork of this story: Joseph, a young man, himself an outsider to mainstream French society because of his African ancestry, gets a job in the zoo. There he is made caretaker of the zoo’s giraffe, Solange. Solange both literally and metaphorically rises above the clumsy, grasping humans who are her captors, and Nimier makes plausible Joseph’s tragi-comic love – both sexual and spiritual – for the creature. Joseph develops an elaborate system of punishments and rewards and conducts them with great delicacy, devotion and cruelty. Solange responds with tremulous sighs, the batting of eyelashes, sidelong glances – each as subtle and as full of meaning as a lover’s. But while Joseph’s love for Solange grows, his relationship with the rest of the world disintegrates…
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