The Story & ITs Narrator
Liz Schroeder A Leopard-Skin Hat, by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson, New Directions 2023. Aloof and untouchable, Anne Serre’s newly translated A Leopard Skin Hat is unapologetically French. Following the nouveaux romanciers of the 1950s, Serre’s work often rejects traditional conventions of the novel and demands more of its readers. In A Leopard Skin Hat, we follow a character known only as the Narrator, who Serre deftly separates from the narrator of the book, in a detached yet intimate portrayal of a lifelong friendship. A Leopard Skin Hat is Serre’s fourth book translated into English by Mark Hutchinson for New Directions. Written in the aftermath of the death of the author’s sister, the novel exposes the decades-long yet seemingly inevitable downfall of Fanny, the Narrator’s closest friend. Fanny is a defiantly unknowable presence, part ode and part indictment—often running from yet tormented by traditional expectations. Guilt hangs heavy over the character of the Narrator, as he reflects on the ways he may have failed Fanny. “We can, by not thinking enough, be responsible for the most appalling things,” he says. As Fanny travels the world and fails, succeeds, then fails again, we sit and watch alongside the Narrator, torn between enabling and intervention. Ultimately, the Narrator seems too fascinated by Fanny to let go of a friendship frequently described as “grueling.”