Passé Composé by Anne Sinclair

 Passé Composé

by Anne Sinclair is a new book released by Chez Grasset.

What, at first I noticed reading this book, is the original writing-style of this beloved french journalist and writer. 

She tells her life-story not just putting all herself in the tale but in certain cases using a compulsive writing-style for not forget anything and for adding, where possible, more informations. 

Anne was born in a wealthy family but she remained a lonely child. For this reason her parents over-protected her and she was set free only when adult. Her dad was an important man of Elizabeth Arden and Revlon: her mother was more hard than her father, and plus she didn't like to read, an activity that captivated little Anne with all herself. The discovery of journalism was a casualty, in particular the branch of reportage; once, his father afforded for business in Algeria when there were important turmoils: he returned home safe, after two days: in the while, her mother and her listened to the radio what was going on. It was in that moments, still little, still maybe confused by life, that Anne developed the idea of becoming a journalist.

Passionate of policy, she studied the field, knocking at many doors: sometimes people asked her of writing down two lines for introducing herself, without receive any answer.

Anne, anyway, with the time became an affirmed journalist and more or less she has met all the most important men of the Planet. Gorbacev, several American Presidents: Clinton was charismatic, Hillary an intelligent woman: our Berlusoni invited her in his beautiful italian mansion close to Milan. Great evening, great dinner till at the moment in which she asked him something that upset the politician. She would have re-met Berlusconi when Obama became President of the USA, and during an important meeting: Berlusconi was speaking too loudly and Queen Elizabeth asked him why he was doing that.

Alain Delon after all is not all that nice, but Jean-Paul Belmondo is enchanting, Jeanne Mureau the actresss of th classic Jules & Jim an interesting soul. 

Being of Jewish origins, Anne wrote several books reconstructing the existences of her ancestors and more, she has precise ideas regarding politicians she doesn't want to have anything to do with. One of them is Le Pen. She wouldn't want to interview her at all and,always in her book she tells that someone asked her if she wanted to interview Saddam Hussein. We were during th First Gulf War: I remember that an italian journalist interviewed the dictator. Sinclair tells that she refused althought it could have been a scoop, but preferred to avoid it.

A chapter reconstruct the affair Strauss-Khan considering that they were married. The scandal: it seemed that the politician wanted to have a sexual intercourse with a worker of an hotel located in New York: was it something orchestrated for avoiding the victory of the politician at the presidentials? No one can knows it, but Anne tells that she lived pretty heavy moments, with reporters and photo-journalists everywhere and of course was certasin of his man's innocence. After this story the marriage ended and now Anne is happy with another man.

Beautiful memoir. Highly recommended.

I thank Editions Grasset for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori