Filiation, identité et appartenance dans Le Testament français ­d’Andreï Makine

Le Testament français by Andreï Makine offers a reflection on the inheritance of identity, inscribed in a historical context and a familial history. Although the Russian homeland appears suffocating and Stalin appears tyrannical, familial figures allow for a reconfiguration of filiations. Turning towards his grandmother, who speaks French, the narrator escapes from historical determinism. The French language thus gives birth to a writer’s vocation.