Daughters Beyond Command

This novel by French playwright Olmi, her first to be translated into English, takes place in France between 1968 and 1981, focusing on three sisters growing up in Aix-en-Provence. The eldest, Sabine, longs for a life on stage in Paris; the middle sister, Hélène, summers with her wealthy aunt and uncle and is a self-proclaimed “bourgeoisie”; and the youngest, Mariette, sickly in youth, is the most innocent and naïve of the three, which is perhaps why she becomes her mother’s greatest confidante. Secrets abound in this book, which is part feminist manifesto, part coming-of-age story, and all family drama. The girls’ mother, Agnès, is tethered to her husband by her children and her sense of Catholic duty, but a chance acquaintance helps her to see that there can be so much more to her life than her family. Olmi captures the fervor and ferocity that overcame France during the years before the 1981 election that made François Mitterrand president.