Delphine de Vigan is preoccupied by the nature of literary and autobiographical truth. In Nothing Holds Back the Night (2013), de Vigan offered an apparently factual account of her family history, intertwined with long passages of fictional creation, which then modulated into an ostensibly conventional form of memoir about her mother's journey to suicide. The book was met with a great deal of acclaim, much critical consternation (was this a novel? a memoir? a work of autofiction?), and an enormous – and enormously responsive – array of readers. And the effect, for de Vigan, proved devastating.
If, that is, we are to believe the description we are offered of her emotional state at the opening of her new work, Based on a True Story (translated from French by George Miller), in which the narrator (a version of de Vigan) finds herself overwhelmed by the effects of having "written a book whose impact I couldn't have foreseen". She is dismayed by the "collateral damage" it has caused within her family. She is exhausted by encounters with readers ("I hadn't imagined that some would cry in front of me, nor how hard it would be for me not to cry with them"). She feels that a terrible reckoning – "a thorough stocktaking, if not a settling of the score" – is on its way. And she is haunted by questions about the future of her career ("What are you going to write after this … What can you write after this?"), and about whether she has cast herself into literary stasis by composing "A book beyond which there was nothing, beyond which nothing could be written".
In the midst of this period of turmoil, de Vigan attends a party at which she encounters a figure who is referred to only as L. Initially, L looks as if she will bring to de Vigan’s life a sense of intimacy and reassurance; a vicarious apprehension of the attributes de Vigan feels she has always lacked (“L was perfect … I felt intimidated by such a calmly assured woman. L was exactly the sort of woman who fascinates me. L was impeccable, with her smooth hair and perfectly filed vermilion nails that seemed to gleam in the dark”); and an uncanny ability to intuit her private anxieties. When de Vigan tells her about the emotional toll the publication of her book has exacted, L responds by saying that “you must sometimes feel very alone, as though you were standing completely naked in the road” – a phrase de Vigan recognises, having used it (in conversation with somebody other than L) only a few days earlier.
Following these initial and unsettling encounters, the women become fast friends. But the intensity of L’s affection for de Vigan assumes an increasingly sinister and obsessive character. They experience a froideur arising from a disagreement about what de Vigan ought to write next (L wants de Vigan to write the truth about the consequences of publishing her last book; de Vigan wants to write something closer to pure fiction). As the novel progresses, L becomes a debilitatingly disruptive presence in de Vigan’s life. She starts to dress like her. She attempts to assume her identity by offering to handle her correspondence. Eventually, she works her way into every aspect of de Vigan’s life so comprehensively as to threaten to destroy her.
Within this relatively simple narrative lies a concern that lends additional weight and interest to de Vigan’s narrative, and this concern centres on the identity of L. Is she a real person? Is she a kind of everywoman (“L” teasingly invites “elle”)? Or is she a figure of projected fantasy, the product of de Vigan’s ravaged imagination? It is telling that she seldom interacts with other figures in the book. And when she does, it is often to behave in the kind of way de Vigan might like to, were she possessed of a different kind of character.
De Vigan keeps these questions arrestingly unresolved, and integrates them with her broader story with elegance and subtlety. She is also capable of writing with vividness and precision (“L’s body balanced on a bar stool was like static choreography that dispensed with music and attracted glances”). Cumulatively, and despite de Vigan’s tendency to use the occasional inert or inattentive phrase, these qualities result in a novel that is conceptually bold, intellectually engaging, often aesthetically rewarding, and almost always near-preposterously absorbing. Based on a true story this book might be. But in its strongest moments, it embodies the singular strengths of fiction.
Matthew Adams is a regular contributor to The National.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE%20ILT20
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Brackets denote aggregate score
Tuesday:
Roma (1) v Shakhtar Donetsk (2), 11.45pm
Manchester United (0) v Sevilla (0), 11.45pm
Wednesday:
Besiktas (0) v Bayern Munich (5), 9pm
Barcelona (1) v Chelsea (1), 11.45pm
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
More coverage from the Future Forum
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now