Books: “Lie With Me” by Philippe Besson
Ever been in a situation when you see someone you think you knew from your past? No, no, you think, that can’t be. It was SO long ago.
But what if you were right?
This is the introduction to “Lie With Me.” Philippe Besson’s quasi-memoir about first love. Philippe, now a famous French author, is at a book signing in Bordeaux circa 2022 when he imagines seeing his first lover.
Flash back to Barbezieux, a small town in southwest France circa 1984. Philippe, the studious awkward 17-year-old son of the high school headmaster, has a secret crush on Thomas Andreau, his handsome, somber, quiet classmate.
They never speak but Philippe fantasizes about Thomas, repeating his name to himself in secret, and writing it on scraps of paper. He convinces himself that Thomas isn’t interested in boys, and so he chalks up his dreams to a one-way desire.
But one day, to Philippe’s amazement, Thomas approaches him and asks him to lunch. The offer is irresistible.
Lunching at a cafe just outside town, Thomas confesses he can “no longer be alone with this feeling” of same-sex attraction. But why tell me, asks Philippe. Thomas replies: “Because you are not like all the others, because I don’t see anyone but you, and you don’t even realize it.” They then have sex in a deserted locker room near the high school basketball courts.
Afterwards, Thomas tells Philippe that if they are to continue to see each other, no one must know. Philippe agrees, and what follows are sexual encounters in all the places Thomas knows best: the locker room, a shed next to the football field, eventually in Philippe’s room. (This Thomas is a pretty smooth—and horny—operator.)
The boys soon discover that outside of sex, they have little in common, which is not surprising as they come from completely different backgrounds. Philippe is the son of a teacher, while Thomas’s father is a dairy farmer and his mother comes from a family of Spanish migrant laborers. Philippe reads “important” books and watches artsy films. Thomas prefers films like “Scarface” and listens to pop music.
Thomas eventually tells Philippe, “you will leave and we will stay.” Truer words were never spoken: after graduation, Philippe is off to university; Thomas and his family go off to Spain for summer vacation. The two never meet again.
Flash forward 30 years to the book signing. Philippe runs after the man he thinks is Thomas. For you romantics out there, this could be the richest fantasy you’ve experienced all week.
“Lie With Me” is a story about gay first love (it’s been nicknamed the French “Brokeback Mountain”). But on a more serious note, it also points to the gulf that exists between the upper and lower classes: i.e., those who are comfortable in their own skin being gay, and those who, because of systemic barriers, will never be able to accept themselves.
In the late 2010s, this slight but beautifully written novel became a bestseller in France. It won a number of literary awards, and was made into a movie in 2022 and a play in 2023.
FYI, “Lie with Me” was translated from the French by actress Molly Ringwald, Brat Pack star of the 1980s. So I suppose if anybody knows about teenage first love, it would be the star of “The Breakfast Club.” De rien (you’re welcome.)
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