After the publication in 2021 of her first book, The Feminist Terror, the
feminist and libertarian activist Irene offers us a second book as original as itis relevant. The book traces the life of his grandmother Hilaria and herchildren, and uses this family memory to unfold political analyzes for ourstruggles today. ---- Too often, the story told to us adopts the dominant,capitalist and patriarchal point of view: we learn the names of great, often malefigures, lists of key dates, but the stories conceal popular resistance and therole of struggles in social progress. This history, which focuses on majorevents, does not allow us to benefit from the stories of the lives andcommitments of so many people who have remained anonymous. Against this dominantnarrative, Hilaria is in line with popular history, history from below. It is byexploring the fate of her own ancestors that Irene immerses us in the history ofworkers' struggles and the struggles of Basque women during the 20th century.Hilaria, Irene's grandmother, is the central figure, the starting point fromwhich the life stories of the family members are woven. Hilaria raised herchildren alone in the 1930s, and the family suffered the hardships of the war andthen of the fascist regime, exposed to repression because of the politicalcommitment of the siblings. Over the course of the chapters, Irene weavestogether family memory and the challenges of present struggles: the chapters thusunfold political analyzes that call in turn to position themselves as feministsagainst capital, against prison, against fascism. The book ends with a chapterdevoted to the need for an anarchist feminism, a class feminism.The history of struggles is for everyoneThe originality of the book lies in this back and forth through which past andpresent shed light on each other, but also in the articulation between documentedhistorical approach and sensitive narrative, recounting lives marked byhardships, sometimes difficult to tell. If Irene can transmit this preciousmemory to us today, she explains, it is moreover because women in her family havedecided not to be silent and have passed on this heritage of struggles. Echoingthis, the book invites us to give voice, but also to reflect on our own heritages.Finally, we must emphasize the accessibility of the book, consistent with itsapproach, which demonstrates that it is possible to present historical analyzesand address sharp political debates without repulsive jargon. The simple andeffective style speaks directly to us, and the comparison of recent events withthe historical narrative shows the topicality of the issues addressed, and theirrelevance for our own struggles, current or future... because it is also a bookthat makes you want to get involved.Irene (UCL Haute-Savoie)Irene, Hilaria, Éditions Divergences, 2022, 154 pages, 14 euros.https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Irene-Hilaria_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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