I've blogged about thsi book before in my Bologna report and now I have a copy of my own, with an English translation.
Marre du Rose is a book I'd like to see every little girl in the western world read! "Sick of Pink" is what the title means and it begins, "Moi, j'aime le noir."
You and me both, sister! What does pink mean to you? To me it means Katie Price, Barbie, favours at weddings that cost an average £20K in the UK (Yes, average! Yes £20K!), rosebuds and kitten noses on cutesy stationery etc etc.
Black means midnight, shape disguising chic, witches' cats, dark chocolate, Gothic, oh and yes = beautiful. What's not to like? Of course I'm not advocating funereal outfits for seven-year old girls, just an acknowledgment, on book jackets and elsewhere, that there ARE other colours! And not just purple, turquoise and lilac either.
I LOVE this book and I hope it will be published in the UK and America. And sell gazillions of copies.
Hmmn--pink has its place, Mary. I couldn't do without the vivid pink of my Constance Spry rose, nor that of my Zephirine Drouin--coupled with their fabulous scent. I like my other pink flowers too--especially the crumply petals of the poppies that are unfurling right now. I love the palest pink of an early dawn sky, and the pink of light shining through a baby's fingers when it holds them up to the sun. I sometimes even like candyfloss, though I am definitely not a KP or Barbie girl, and had no pink favours at my own wedding 20 years ago, so I am with you on those. I do also wish that it wasn't the default colour for the background of every 'girly' book. That's what's given it a bad name, and it doesn't deserve it. I shall carry on wearing pink. And black.
ReplyDeleteOOh, we used to have Zephirine Drouhin! And we have Madame Pierre Ogier and La Reine Victoria (both pink) and love them. But they aren't what comes first to mind in the bookshops and toyshops when I see the sea of pink that threatens to overwhelm the female (slightly more than) half of the population.
ReplyDeleteIt's that bright plasticky pink that we've had just too much of and I blame Disney as much as anyone.
I LOVE the look of that book, even if the backgrounds are...pink! But then that's the point, isn't it? We need a bit of light & shade. Black compliments everything else, but too much of it...well, not sure I like the idea of hordes of 7-year-old emos much more!
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