Virginie Despentes, 55, was born in Nancy, France, and lives between Paris and Barcelona. Her books include her 1993 debut, Baise-Moi, about two sex workers on a killing spree; the feminist manifesto King Kong Theory (2006), which discusses her gang-rape at the age of 17; and the bestselling Vernon Subutex trilogy, televised on Canal Plus in 2019. For the Times Literary Supplement, her writing is “intelligent, outspoken, witty, shocking, propulsive and streetwise”. In Despentes’s new novel, Dear Dickhead, an author, Oscar, becomes unlikely penpals with an actor, Rebecca, after he insults her looks on Instagram while facing allegations of sexual misconduct from a young colleague.
What led you to write a #MeToo novel set in French publishing?
I saw it as being more about addiction. In France there wasn’t really any book industry #MeToo moment, but I was interested in Oscar because we have the same background, which is to say he wasn’t raised to be a writer who has a little bit of power. I wanted to think about what happens once we switch from not having much power to having a little bit and have to realise our situation has changed. I was interested in the moment at which you listen to what people are telling you. He thinks he’s the victim and then slowly understands what everyone’s talking about. Once you understand you’ve done some things wrong – and after a certain age most of us have – what do you do next? The book makes it obvious that I don’t have answers.
