A Hymn to Life

Extraordinary … vibrates with necessity … A Hymn to Life is novelistic and resounds with grace. The language is precise and vivid; the story reverberates with echoes and patterns … an extraordinary achievement … There is beauty, love, hope. And there is rage, loss and fear of the void beneath her feet ... Many could be enriched by this alertly human account of 70 years of life. Here is a perspective that is full, candid and instructive * Financial Times *
Extraordinarily courageous … what makes it so compelling is that it shows what happens when an atomic bomb of cruelty erupts within a seemingly normal family … Her modest humility makes her courage all the more impressive * The Times *
A unique memoir by a figure of astonishing power … alive with the kind of detail that wouldn’t look out of place in a good novel ... Pelicot's riveting account of her ordeal refuses to conform to any agenda but her own * Guardian *
Gisèle's humility and courage elevates A Hymn to Life ... What makes it so compelling is that it shows what happens when an atomic bomb of cruelty erupts within a seemingly normal family … The book's translators, Natasha Lehrer and Ruth Diver, have done an excellent job of capturing Pelicot’s tone of determined control and occasional broken anguish -- Hadley Freeman * Sunday Times *Book of the Week* *
Extraordinary … a powerful tale of a mighty woman * Daily Telegraph *
An emblem of resilience for women everywhere * Vogue *
The bravest woman in the world ... A powerful and devastating memoir * Daily Mirror *
[A Hymn to Life] is gripping, it is heart-breaking, it is beautifully written -- Lulu Garcia-Navarro * New York Times *
Stunning, admirable * Elle *
A Hymn to Life is a reminder of organised narrative’s simple power ... Replete with details of modest domesticity in modern France, A Hymn to Life is also a rousing feminist manifesto ... It seeks a proper transfer of shame from sex-crime victims to their perpetrators, and the perpetrators’ enablers * New York Times Book Review *
Staggering ... A lyrical book about monstrous events, a compelling exploration of what it feels like to hold two existences in your brain at once ... There is only whatever you do to put one foot in front of the other. There is only what it takes to survive * Washington Post *
Stirring ... What could be a dark and depressing chronicle propels forward with the force of Ms Pelicot’s quiet courage and instinct for self-reflection ... Ultimately, Ms Pelicot offers a cautiously hopeful message about how people can overcome trauma to forge a new life ... A commendable heroine * Economist *
A Hymn to Life is not, finally, a book about collapse. Nor is it a story of triumphant overcoming. It is something more complex and necessary: a work about memory, identity, fracture and quiet violence we enact when we demand that survivors perform their pain in ways that make the rest of us comfortable ... What A Hymn to Life ultimately offers is a refusal of that reduction * Irish Times *
A Hymn to Life is an astonishing book – unflinchingly honest, open to self-interrogation, evocative, determined … Pelicot’s honesty is breath-taking, and it helps make A Hymn to Life all the more revelatory as a sociological document -- Sophie Gilbert * Atlantic *
A powerful tapestry of Pelicot's life ... At once courageous and grimly illuminating ... Though there is unfathomable horror recounted in Pelicot's memoir, it feels important to note there is more to it than that ... What comes through is not just her preternatural strength but her enduring optimism * iNews *
A paean to dignity in the face of the unspeakable … Gisèle is more of a role model than she knows * Evening Standard *
The figurehead of a worldwide movement … A feminist icon … Gisèle has proven herself to be someone with the inner strength to rise when faced with adversity * Sunday Independent *
In matter-of-fact, defiant prose, [Gisèle] insists that the way we talk about rape, and they way men talk about women, matters … Thememoir is an act of rebellion against what happened ... It is the end of silence, unconsciousness, forgetting, unknowing. It is the start of consciousness; the start of change * Observer *
Not only does Pelicot want to use her story to give others strength to stand up to their rapists, she also wants survivors to know that they can rebuild their lives … Finding love and happiness again is remarkable after what destroyed her life -- Christina Lamb * Sunday Times *
A living testament to a woman whose spirit will not be broken … Gripping ...a redoubtable woman with a remarkable mind, who writes throughout with clear-headed, self-possessed precision. She lets the story speak for itself ... Not a single word is wasted or unnecessary … Fearless … It is this indomitable, insubmissive spirit which makes [Gisèle] such a wonder and an inspiration * Independent *
Mme Pelicot's powerful book leaves no stone unturned, detailing her life before, during and after the court case that captured the world. The most incredible takeaway? That she refused to let the horror she endured dampen her faith in people * Grazia UK *
A deeply moving and courageous memoir ... Her story offers hope, solace, and a necessary contribution to reshaping discussions of abuse and justice ... This memoir is a testament and delivers a promise that victims have no reason to feel ashamed * Women & Home *
[A] brave survival story … essential … the most astonishing aspect is how Gisèle has succeeded in rebuilding herself and, wonderfully, discovering love again … A Hymn to Life is proof of resilience, both hers and humanity’s * Mirror *
I read A Hymn to Life in two days, I couldn't put it down ... it left me speechless ...[Madame Pelicot has] inspired women across the globe … and created a powerful legacy that will change the narrative around shame, forever -- Queen Camilla
A Hymn to Life is quite something - a really brave, honest and heart-rending memoir -- Sarah Jessica Parker
An extraordinary memoir that inspires courage and compassion, but also crucially demands change … A Hymn to Life is truly a gift to every woman in the world, and we should thank her for her courage with all our hearts -- Emma Thompson
The only writing you should read about Gisèle’s story is her own. If you want a page-turning memoir by a lifeforce, buy it for everyone you know. It may move you to tears, but it will move you to live more -- Gina Martin
An astoundingly brave memoir -- Kristin Scott Thomas
I am in awe of Gisèle Pelicot. I have read A Hymn to Life four times. There are many emotions I would have expected to feel as I absorbed the horror of what she was subjected to … What I didn't expect to feel was hope – optimism even – and to have my faith in human nature restored -- Victoria Derbyshire
Gisèle Pelicot is one of my biggest heroes ... I will always keep her words close to my heart: shame must shift to the perpetrators. Thank you for holding your head high -- Ashley Louise James
This is a book full of hope, a book that looks towards the future … Gisèle, you are absolutely remarkable … A Hymn to Life is such a powerful read, with a great message -- Lorraine Kelly * ITV Lorraine *
Appalling and uplifting in equal measure. Her account of why she changed her mind about a closed hearing is particularly compelling ... What a remarkable woman -- Lady Hale
Makes you rage and grieve for Gisèle and womankind, but also leaves you with a feeling of purest admiration. The book goes to the darkest places, but shines such a light, and the light is all hers. She is – or through circumstance, becomes – the most extraordinary person ... I really, really strongly urge you to read the whole book. It's remarkable, a book for our age, urgent and so important -- India Knight
A courageous, inspirational and powerful read * The Sun *
One of the most harrowing books I’ve ever read, but essential * Literary Review *
Intimate ... What A Hymn to Life sets out to do is strip away some of the gilt from the monument, to bring Gisele Pelicot down to a tangible scale. In so doing, a more nuanced, richly layered portrait emerges * New Statesman *
Magnificent ... Gisèle has such an energetic dignity and her book A Hymn to Life is astounding -- Deborah Frances-White
Mme Pelicot has become a repository of hope and – though it has become a devalued word in the age of Instagram – an inspiration to all women across the globe -- Lucy Mangan
Gisèle has challenged the patriarchy everywhere ... She has become a symbol of strength, of endurance, of kindness, of honesty – and we will be forever grateful -- Gloria Steinem
What a woman … [Gisèle] has more than survived: she has triumphed. In the book, you really do get a sense not just of her courage but of her force of personality and her desire to reclaim her life … incredibly powerful … A Hymn to Life is a good, good book and needs to be read * Off Air with Jane & Fi *
By waiving her anonymity and refusing to feel shame, Gisèle paves the way for other victims to come forward ... Her extraordinary strength and dignity will have a long-lasting impact on survivors all over the world -- Simone Biles
Gisèle Pelicot has made history … In waiving her right to privacy, Gisèle took a powerful stand for victims of sexual violence everywhere … Her courage and resilience leave a legacy for women all over the world -- Billie Jean King
In addition to the many lessons Gisèle's book teaches us about the nature and impact of abuse, it also left me with an overwhelming sense of hope ... She has become the face and voice of resistance, bravery and hope -- Farah Nazeer, Women's Aid CEO
Gisèle, you are extraordinary, you are exemplary … You have changed the dial for all women -- Annie Lenox
This is a book of rare dignity and quiet force ... A profoundly moving testimony – precise, restrained and ultimately life-affirming * Le Monde *
Gisèle’s story, told movingly in her new memoir A Hymn to Life, delves into betrayal, brutality, family fractures and the long, uncertain path toward healing * Mirror *
[Gisèle Pelicot] is beautiful. I say this not to comment further on her looks but to note her spirit: a palpable sense of freedom, an almost unearthly transfer of optimism to those in her midst -- Gaby Wood * Vogue *
After decades of betrayal and a trial that made her an icon, Pelicot writes a tender and unflinching memoir about survival, resilience and her decision to be joyful * Elle USA *
Deeply vulnerable ... For all the monstrousness revealed in Pelicot’s story, her steadfast courage and optimism that she will persevere acts as a buoy, reeling the reader back with her own sense of hope for the future when, many times, her retellings of her abusers' cruelty turn unbearable * USA Today *
A Hymn to Life documents the story of an extraordinary woman … Very powerful -- Nuala McGovern * Woman's Hour *