No Touching <\/em><\/a>is a story of everyday drudgery and unexpected empowerment, dealing with questions of female agency, desire in all its forms, and the extent to which self-worth comes from the way we see our image reflected in the eyes of others. It is narrated by Jos\u00e9phine, a high school philosophy teacher in the suburbs of Paris who decides to shake up her predictable life by taking pole dancing classes: by a series of coincidences, Jos\u00e9phine ends up landing a job in a high-end strip club in central Paris, and starts a new nocturnal life as dancer Rose Lee.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rose Lee is described as a rebirth for Jos\u00e9phine, a new life, or a new chance at life: \u201cDid it really take me thirty years to be born? Yes, maybe. I dreamed of being the kind of sexy woman who gets men hard, drives them crazy, the kind who\u2019s not afraid to show her ass and spread her legs.\u201d Yet this new beginning is precisely the concern I initially had with the story: Jos\u00e9phine only comes to love herself when she feels that she is sexually desirable. However, her self-awakening (\u201cI hated this body for so long. But now it\u2019s my personal celebration\u201d) made me feel much more sympathetic towards her in this respect: Jos\u00e9phine has gone from feeling that \u201cMy body was trying to escape, it had stopped belonging to me\u201d to loving being in her own skin, and taking pleasure in her reflection \u2013 and so if this is what it takes for her to feel that she inhabits her body instead of remaining estranged from it, then perhaps that should be celebrated rather than judged. Indeed, for every time that Rouf seems to be suggesting that Jos\u00e9phine can only feel a sense of worth if she is arousing a man (for example, she mentions the \u201cfrequently uncomfortable positions I have to contort my body into in order to be desirable to men\u201d), she then blindsides by showing how for Jos\u00e9phine this is liberating (\u201cPutting on the mask of Rose Lee turns me into a free woman\u201d).<\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9phine is frequently scathing about her contemporaries, who she sees as living little lives and settling for banality rather than yearning for fulfilment (\u201cSmall life, small joys\u201d, she comments of their countdown towards the end-of-school bell each day, and describes herself and her colleagues as \u201cbrought together in an obscene display of our lack of drive and passion\u201d). The fact that she includes herself in this criticism rescues it from being too judgemental, and so I tried not to get too bogged down in stereotypes of navel-gazing middle-class French writers \u2013 after all, at least Jos\u00e9phine is doing more than simply talking about her dissatisfaction. And her impassioned speech to her students about how the system wants them to remain in ignorance and they are blindly marching towards their inglorious futures was a particular highlight, as was her exposure of the bureaucratic injustices of the paths towards advancement in the French education system. Tina Kover\u2019s use of register always impresses me: Jos\u00e9phine\u2019s self-flagellating turns of phrase (\u201cGod, what a loser I am!\u201d; \u201cthe only time of the year when I don\u2019t want to barf up my whole life\u201d) and sardonic observations about administrative frustrations (\u201cThe whole overarching failure of homo technologicus<\/em>, summed up in a few sheets of paper mangled by a malfunctioning photocopier\u201d) are beautifully rendered, as is the voluptuousness of her dimly-lit dances and the harshness of the bleary-eyed sunrises.<\/p>\nAn interesting feature of Jos\u00e9phine\u2019s story is how her love of philosophy drives her forward in her life choices: \u201cKnowing how to live means choosing the ideas that won\u2019t ruin us. That\u2019s how philosophy can rescue us from the unhappiness of existing.\u201d If dancing in a high-end strip club has rescued Jos\u00e9phine from \u201cthe unhappiness of existing\u201d, then this itself has come about because it is an idea that \u201cwon\u2019t ruin her\u201d. We discover more about her passion for philosophy in an epistolary relationship she develops with one of her students, Hadrien, an exchange that renews Jos\u00e9phine\u2019s sense of purpose in her day job. Jos\u00e9phine\u2019s other significant relationship is with Martin, a fellow teacher with whom she has a platonic but potentially romantic complicity. There is no clear resolution to this potential (which I appreciated): Martin represents the life Jos\u00e9phine wanted to leave behind, but will her time as Rose Lee make her more appreciative of the tenderness she craves and that he might just offer her, or has her alter ego drawn her too far away from the kind of everyday satisfaction and stability that Rose Lee seems to scorn? No Touching <\/em>is an engaging and original story, pulsing with fantasy and dragged along by reality, a story of two identities struggling to co-exist in the same person \u2013 I\u2019ll leave you to find out for yourselves whether Jos\u00e9phine or Rose Lee has the last word.<\/p>\nReview copy of\u00a0No Touching\u00a0<\/em>provided by Europa Editions<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Translated from French by Tina Kover (Europa Editions, 2021) No Touching is a story of everyday drudgery and unexpected empowerment, dealing with questions of female agency, desire in all its forms, and the extent to which self-worth comes from the way we see our image reflected in the eyes of others. It is narrated by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2429,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[319,365,521,675,991],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf - Translating Women<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf - Translating Women\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Translated from French by Tina Kover (Europa Editions, 2021) No Touching is a story of everyday drudgery and unexpected empowerment, dealing with questions of female agency, desire in all its forms, and the extent to which self-worth comes from the way we see our image reflected in the eyes of others. It is narrated by […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Translating Women\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-03T12:13:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/files\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Helen Vassallo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Helen Vassallo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/\",\"name\":\"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf - Translating Women\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-03T12:13:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-03T12:13:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#\/schema\/person\/f6b5a23680f8533c3894aef4e6018f68\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg\",\"width\":240,\"height\":373},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/\",\"name\":\"Translating Women\",\"description\":\"INTERNATIONAL | INTERSECTIONAL | ACTIVIST | FEMINIST\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#\/schema\/person\/f6b5a23680f8533c3894aef4e6018f68\",\"name\":\"Helen Vassallo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c32871912708eb310775deb9561113ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c32871912708eb310775deb9561113ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Helen Vassallo\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/author\/hmv201\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf - Translating Women","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf - Translating Women","og_description":"Translated from French by Tina Kover (Europa Editions, 2021) No Touching is a story of everyday drudgery and unexpected empowerment, dealing with questions of female agency, desire in all its forms, and the extent to which self-worth comes from the way we see our image reflected in the eyes of others. It is narrated by […]","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/","og_site_name":"Translating Women","article_published_time":"2021-12-03T12:13:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/files\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg"}],"author":"Helen Vassallo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Helen Vassallo","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/","name":"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf - Translating Women","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-03T12:13:19+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-03T12:13:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#\/schema\/person\/f6b5a23680f8533c3894aef4e6018f68"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/601\/2021\/12\/No-Touching.jpg","width":240,"height":373},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/2021\/12\/03\/review-no-touching-by-ketty-rouf\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review: NO TOUCHING by Ketty Rouf"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/","name":"Translating Women","description":"INTERNATIONAL | INTERSECTIONAL | ACTIVIST | FEMINIST","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#\/schema\/person\/f6b5a23680f8533c3894aef4e6018f68","name":"Helen Vassallo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c32871912708eb310775deb9561113ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c32871912708eb310775deb9561113ed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Helen Vassallo"},"url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/author\/hmv201\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/translatingwomen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}