Europa Editions
214 West 29th St., Suite 1003
New York NY 10001
info@europaeditions.com
www.europaeditions.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2004 by Éditions Gallimard, Paris
First publication 2011 by Europa Editions
Translation by Howard Curtis
Original Title: Utu
Translation copyright © 2011 by Europa Editions
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Cet ouvrage publié dans la cadre du programme d'aide à la publication bénéficie du soutien du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et du Service Culturel de l’Ambassade de France représenté aux Etats-Unis.
This work received support from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States through their publishing assistance program.
Cover Art by Emanuele Ragnisco
www.mekkanografici.com
Cover photo © by Mike Powell/Getty
ISBN 9781609458881
Caryl Férey
UTU
Translated from the French
by Howard Curtis
to Sergio T. G.,
cougar.
to Audrey,
Sister in anger, dead joy,
And no serenity.
When the mask of man is applied
to the face of the earth, her eyes are gouged out.
—RENÉ CHAR
P
ART
O
NE
THE TASTE OF STONES
0.
Paul Osborne felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to urinate. Anywhere would do. He could barely see the masses of people scattered on the sand. There was a white hut at the other end of the beach, the air vibrating in his lungs, and that noise that grabbed him by the stomach and sucked him in, that noise that pulled on his penis and sucked it in. First, the sun subsided, then his knees sagged and gave way. Stifling a cry, Osborne collapsed on the sand. Whether it was hyperthermia or the side effects of pills or old fears, he found it hard to hold back the burning sensation suffusing his stomach, and a trickle of urine ran down his pants.
When he opened his eyes again, the noise had disappeared. But the people were still there, on the beach, in the hundreds.
