Self Portrait in Green by Marie NDiaye

According to reports, Self Portrait in Green is what happened when Marie NDiaye was invited to write a memoir. In a nutshell, it's an anti-memoir. This is one of the most surreal and experimental French works, set between the years 2000 and 2003 and hopping back and forth randomly. While ostensibly a personal biography, Self Portrait in Green reads more like surrealist French fiction. It all starts with the French river La Garonne, which runs through NDiaye's hometown.

The river is swelling and on the verge of overflowing its banks, threatening to flood the town. The way NDiaye paints it, it appears as if the flooding was predestined; as if the river was intended to do so. Her portrayal of the incident is magical. This attitude to fate and destiny leads us, the reader, throughout the novel. NDiaye is continually comparing herself to those around her, including La Garonne. Marie is driving with her children when she notices a woman in the yard of a nearby home; the woman is clothed entirely in green and is looking back at her. When Marie asks her children what they saw, they do not notice the green-clad figure.

Link to read: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893797