Consent: A Memoir

Vanessa Springora's "Le consentement" is an autobiographical account detailing her relationship with a celebrated writer, Gabriel Matzneff, which began when she was 14 and he was around 50. The book describes the psychological manipulation and intense emotional hold he exerted over her. Springora recounts how her youth and vulnerability were exploited within a milieu that often overlooked or even condoned such relationships due to the writer's reputation.

This memoir offers a stark examination of power dynamics, the ambiguity of consent in adolescence, and the complicity of a society that, for a time, shielded a predator. Springora's narrative serves as an act of reclaiming her story and confronting the past, providing a lucid and direct account of a destructive experience and its lasting impact.