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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
fast-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Right after finishing this book, I looked briefly into the author’s short bio. Ketty Rouf has a master’s degree in philosophy and is a passionate ballet dancer. I was wondering for a while if this book is indeed a roman á clef, derived from the author’s own experience which is moulded into the character of Josephine. In the first part of the book, Josephine asks herself this question: what can a master’s degree in philosophy do for your life? She has spent several years teaching philosophy in a high school in Drancy, a suburb of Paris. Her life consists of balancing between Xanax, Propranolol, and Tupperware lunches in the staff room. One night, the Xanax won’t just put her to sleep, and that’s when she decided to roam around Paris with no goal, no destination, no watch, no phone, only to lose herself.
That night, Josephine is christened with a new name as she entered a striptease club and joined the team. Rose Lee is the name she had chosen for herself, the one for whom the word ‘striptease’ was invented in the forties, a burlesque legend. After thirty-five years, four months, and sixty days, Rose Lee has been born. The alter ego has been awakened, and after that night Josephine leads a double life as a striptease dancer by night and a philosophy high school teacher by day. And this is when things get interesting, as Josephine begins to realise the problem with modern life and philosophy in general.
As a philosophy teacher, Josephine often feels that her life is unfulfilled and boring with so many unruly students who could not seem to appreciate the beauty of philosophy. She begins to have some conflicting feelings, as philosophy is meant to help us understanding life, but it was as though her own life itself is refusing to be understood by way of applying philosophy. She happens to find her fulfilment through her job as Rose Lee at night, utilising her insomnia to fill a new role in society as a striptease dancer, to make more customers get hard and give them their fantasies. Yet it’s during this time that one of her students, Hadrien, finally awaken Josephine about how philosophy could be applied in daily life through his letters, thanking Josephine for her lessons and asking for advice.
It seems as though this brave debut novel is all about the conflict between the body and the mind. As a philosophy teacher who has learned so many ideas from various philosophers since antiquity, Josephine frequently uses her mind to make her decision in life. Whereas during her striptease career, Rose Lee encounters the fact that the body cannot lie and sometimes does not even require any negotiation with the mind to act. Her customers get hard, even without feeling any emotions towards her. Our existence begins with the act of two bodies being put into one, and there are some limits for the mind to explain things.
Josephine has been living in ignorance, through her bookish knowledge. Ignorance of real experience, of deep emotion, and of understanding the human condition and of herself. Her ignorance is cured as she becomes Rose Lee by night, even though French Law does not allow a public servant teacher like her to engage in an act labelled as shameful by society. After all, her purpose in life seems to be simple, to experience the happiest moments of her life as she wears nothing and dances in front of her customers, fulfilling their fantasies. As Albert Camus said, “You cannot create an experience, you must undergo it.”
That night, Josephine is christened with a new name as she entered a striptease club and joined the team. Rose Lee is the name she had chosen for herself, the one for whom the word ‘striptease’ was invented in the forties, a burlesque legend. After thirty-five years, four months, and sixty days, Rose Lee has been born. The alter ego has been awakened, and after that night Josephine leads a double life as a striptease dancer by night and a philosophy high school teacher by day. And this is when things get interesting, as Josephine begins to realise the problem with modern life and philosophy in general.
As a philosophy teacher, Josephine often feels that her life is unfulfilled and boring with so many unruly students who could not seem to appreciate the beauty of philosophy. She begins to have some conflicting feelings, as philosophy is meant to help us understanding life, but it was as though her own life itself is refusing to be understood by way of applying philosophy. She happens to find her fulfilment through her job as Rose Lee at night, utilising her insomnia to fill a new role in society as a striptease dancer, to make more customers get hard and give them their fantasies. Yet it’s during this time that one of her students, Hadrien, finally awaken Josephine about how philosophy could be applied in daily life through his letters, thanking Josephine for her lessons and asking for advice.
It seems as though this brave debut novel is all about the conflict between the body and the mind. As a philosophy teacher who has learned so many ideas from various philosophers since antiquity, Josephine frequently uses her mind to make her decision in life. Whereas during her striptease career, Rose Lee encounters the fact that the body cannot lie and sometimes does not even require any negotiation with the mind to act. Her customers get hard, even without feeling any emotions towards her. Our existence begins with the act of two bodies being put into one, and there are some limits for the mind to explain things.
Josephine has been living in ignorance, through her bookish knowledge. Ignorance of real experience, of deep emotion, and of understanding the human condition and of herself. Her ignorance is cured as she becomes Rose Lee by night, even though French Law does not allow a public servant teacher like her to engage in an act labelled as shameful by society. After all, her purpose in life seems to be simple, to experience the happiest moments of her life as she wears nothing and dances in front of her customers, fulfilling their fantasies. As Albert Camus said, “You cannot create an experience, you must undergo it.”
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
3.5
"On ne touche pas" est l'histoire de Joséphine, prof de philo, qui un jour renaît et devient Rose Lee, strip-teaseuse. Elle découvre une liberté qu'elle n'avait jamais connue, elle se redécouvre et a de plus en plus de mal à revenir à l'école chaque jour. Ketty Rouf utilise une écriture presque agressive, son livre veut provoquer (il y arrive pourtant ?) et nous faire réfléchir sur notre façon de vivre. Il y a beaucoup de haine et désillusion par rapport à l'Éducation nationale française, ça m'a choqué de lire ça lors que l'auteure est prof elle-même ! Enfin, une lecture intéressante (mais...).
"On ne touche pas" est l'histoire de Joséphine, prof de philo, qui un jour renaît et devient Rose Lee, strip-teaseuse. Elle découvre une liberté qu'elle n'avait jamais connue, elle se redécouvre et a de plus en plus de mal à revenir à l'école chaque jour. Ketty Rouf utilise une écriture presque agressive, son livre veut provoquer (il y arrive pourtant ?) et nous faire réfléchir sur notre façon de vivre. Il y a beaucoup de haine et désillusion par rapport à l'Éducation nationale française, ça m'a choqué de lire ça lors que l'auteure est prof elle-même ! Enfin, une lecture intéressante (mais...).
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
No Touching by @kettyrouf is extricating and it is the journey of the protagonist of liberating herself from a life that was stifling her. Josephine, a philosophy teacher in her mid 30s had given upon the idea of making a difference in the lives of her teenage students who had the attention span of a goldfish. Living in Paris, a city that screams freedom Josephine was dying a little every day in a job that was constantly moderated and didn't give her the space to grow.
One night, a visit to a strip club changes the course of Josephine's life forever. The air inside smelled like freedom and on a whim, she joined the dancing classes. Eventually, she found herself working in the club and she emerged as whole new person now. Josephine was now Rose Lee, she was composed of teasing lingerie, perfect makeup, high heels and a self-confidence that Josephine could never have. She found solace in the strong female amity amongst the girls in the club, the strange power that she held on men that came to her. Rose Lee had the world at her feet.
The alteration that the protagonist made in her life, to truly experience living in it's rawest form is stunning. A person with a master's degree in philosophy would usually hold the life of a stripper ignominious, but this is the story of a woman consciously making a choice to celebrate her mental and physical self. This book is about giving women choices, she may find herself without the restraint of the society's strict domains of a sense of identity. It is bold and provocative and it questions the parts of life that truly makes us free.
No Touching is a powerful debut, highly feminist in it's nature. It is an ode to women and to freedom.
Thank you @europaeditionsuk for the e-ARC!
One night, a visit to a strip club changes the course of Josephine's life forever. The air inside smelled like freedom and on a whim, she joined the dancing classes. Eventually, she found herself working in the club and she emerged as whole new person now. Josephine was now Rose Lee, she was composed of teasing lingerie, perfect makeup, high heels and a self-confidence that Josephine could never have. She found solace in the strong female amity amongst the girls in the club, the strange power that she held on men that came to her. Rose Lee had the world at her feet.
The alteration that the protagonist made in her life, to truly experience living in it's rawest form is stunning. A person with a master's degree in philosophy would usually hold the life of a stripper ignominious, but this is the story of a woman consciously making a choice to celebrate her mental and physical self. This book is about giving women choices, she may find herself without the restraint of the society's strict domains of a sense of identity. It is bold and provocative and it questions the parts of life that truly makes us free.
No Touching is a powerful debut, highly feminist in it's nature. It is an ode to women and to freedom.
Thank you @europaeditionsuk for the e-ARC!
I was dreading a teacher-student romance so hard but thank god this author has too much class to do that. A really good book