Sometimes something will happen to someone we do not know, in a place that may or may not be familiar. In November 2015 a terrorist attack took place at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. One of the 88 victims was Hélène Leiris and this book is written by her husband Antoine.
‘You Will Not Have My Hate’ describes the events that Antoine was confronted with; from learning of the attacks on the night whilst he was at home caring for their 17 month old son, Melvil to the interminable wait to know if she lived or died, the identification, funeral and the aftermath.
Three days after her death, Antoine posted a letter on Facebook, addressed to the perpetrators in which he vowed that he, and his son, would survive and be happy – the post went viral and now everyone knows about the Bataclan, about the attacks and hopefully about the courage and determination that allows us to move forward, be it ever so difficult.
The facts of the events are shocking; the emotion portrayed in this book is heart-breaking but ultimately so uplifting. Simple facts are laid before us; about Antoine’s relationship with Hélène, describing them as like ‘two little Lego bricks that fitted together perfectly’; about how he coped with his son, who was unfamiliar with Papa drying him after his bath and how difficult it was to cut the baby’s finger nails.
What resonates is the kindness of people, the mothers at the nursery who supplied Antoine with home cooked food so that they would eat something prepared with a mother’s love.
Antoine catalogues the ways in which he continues a routine that Melvil is familiar with and the bravery he confronts each situation is amazing; raw emotion that made me weep for the man and his son. I am confounded by the bravery, the use of words, the self-analysis that went into this book. Mr Leiris thank you, thank you, thank you.