French Exit: A Raw Feminist Novel by Marie Darrieussecq

By the Editorial Team · Sunday, August 30, 2026

Marie Darrieussecq has published *How to Make a Woman*, a novel that follows the intertwined lives of two teenage girls from a Basque village as they confront personal and societal challenges from the 1980s into adulthood. The book offers a powerful exploration of female friendship, trauma, and resilience, continuing Darrieussecq’s nuanced examination of women’s experiences against a backdrop of political and cultural change.

Marie Darrieussecq, the French author known for blending sharp political insight with raw, poetic storytelling, has released her latest novel, *How to Make a Woman*. The book presents a dual narrative centered on Rose and Solange, two teenage girls from the fictional Basque village of Clèves in southwestern France, navigating friendship and personal upheaval in the late 1980s.

Darrieussecq, who rose to international prominence at age 27 with her 1996 debut *Pig Tales*, continues to explore the complexities of women’s lives, sexualities, and rivalries in this new work. The novel opens with 15-year-old Rose on a loosely supervised school trip to Madrid, an experience both thrilling and fraught with adolescent uncertainty. Solange is notably absent from this excursion, having recently given birth to an unplanned child fathered by an unidentified man.

The narrative follows Rose, the more conventional daughter of a middle-class family, as she begins to form romantic attachments and later pursues higher education in Bordeaux before establishing herself as a psychologist working with disadvantaged youth. Meanwhile, Solange’s trajectory is marked by hardship and resilience; after leaving for Paris to pursue an acting career, she finds liberation and joy in underground queer clubs, eventually making her way to Hollywood.

Throughout the novel, predatory male figures and persistent harassment create an undercurrent of threat, contrasting with moments of youthful exuberance and the characters’ pursuit of fulfillment. Solange’s child, who faces learning disabilities, is raised by Solange’s mother, underscoring themes of sacrifice and familial support amid challenging circumstances.

The narrative structure alternates between Rose’s and Solange’s perspectives, highlighting divergent interpretations of shared experiences. Rose perceives Solange as distant and self-focused, while Solange’s own chapters offer a visceral account of trauma, including a harrowing portrayal of teenage childbirth and the impact of the AIDS epidemic on her social circle in Paris. The novel also includes scenes set in a gritty London cooperative, evoking a battle-weary but vibrant atmosphere, punctuated by interactions with cultural icons such as Prince and Annie Lennox.

However, the novel’s concluding section, depicting a reunion between Rose and Solange in their 40s at a film premiere in Los Angeles, has drawn criticism for its more contrived and less compelling tone compared to the rest of the book. Despite this, an early recurring image of the two friends facing mortality together remains evocative: “The two girls look out the window together; death is like a small figure on the path, waving at them, see you later, see you later.”

*How to Make a Woman* stands as a poignant and unflinching feminist work, combining emotional intensity with incisive cultural observation. It deepens Darrieussecq’s ongoing examination of women’s inner lives and societal challenges, framed by evocative settings and a narrative reflecting both despair and resilience.

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