Gazelle, de Rikki Ducornet, ou les avatars du désir

Despite its seeming departure from her fantastic vein, Rikki Ducor-net’s latest novel, Gazelle (2003), situated in the fragrant setting of Cairo in the 1950’s, is structured like " a sequence of charms”. By rekindling the historical meanings of “want” and of " wanton , ” used as a verb, Rikki Ducornet stirs the sleeping significance of “ wanting ” as both lack and desire. The link between the chapters, that could stand as autonomous vignettes, is created by the ubiquitous figure of the Mother, brilliantly overwhelming by her absence.