Nadia Daam: 'My daughter is a landmark in every sense of the word'

Nadia Daam's latest novel, "Des filles comme il faut" (Proper Girls), opens with a quote from Montesquieu: "All husbands are ugly." This sets the stage for Daam's masterful use of satire to examine the condition of women. The book follows a protagonist described as a "magnificent loser" who is trying to stay afloat while searching for another woman who has disappeared.

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All husbands are ugly.

The novel's plot is rooted in Daam's own fascination with why women voluntarily disappear. She contrasts this with men's reasons for disappearing, which are often linked to personal failure, bankruptcy, or gambling debts. "When women do it, it's because everything is organized for them not to succeed. They flee a system, conjugality, violence," Daam explained in a recent interview.

Daam, described as radiant and warm, shared this insight over coffee in a Parisian café. She noted that since the book's release, many women have confessed on social media to having dreamed of falling ill just to receive care. "This says a lot about exhaustion," she lamented. The novel tackles serious subjects like obstetric violence, harassment, chemical submission, and burnout, framing them through engaged humor, a strategy recommended by current feminists for long-term resilience.

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When women do it, it's because everything is organized for them not to succeed. They flee a system, conjugality, violence

"Des filles comme il faut" is published by L'Iconoclaste. The article notes that the full content, including further discussion on who energizes Daam, is reserved for subscribers.

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This says a lot about exhaustion