A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot

📖 Read:   September 2026

Chosen by: Heather

Discussed:   Tuesday 29th September 2026

Our book club's September read was A Hymn to Life, the extraordinarily powerful memoir by Gisèle Pelicot.

Synpopsis by Susanna Lea Associates

One November day, Gisèle Pelicot was called to a local police station and life as she knew it ended. Her husband of fifty years had been caught by a supermarket guard filming up women’s skirts. But on his computer was shattering evidence: for nearly a decade, he had been secretly drugging and raping her and inviting dozens of strangers into their home to abuse her.

Four years later, he and fifty other men were put on trial and Gisèle's courage in waiving her right to anonymity made global headlines. ‘Shame must change sides,’ she declared, giving voice and hope to millions. Her words became a rallying cry and her decision marked a turning point in public feeling about sexual violence.

To Read or Not to Read Review

Julie

I read this book back in New Zealand but this was a book I wished I could be at our bookclub in Holmfirth to discuss together. It is difficult to know quite how to put into words what I have taken from it.

The book is devastating. To discover that you have been subjected to horrific abuse, without knowing it was happening at the time, is almost impossible to comprehend. To then have to face the truth and the consequences of that knowledge, knowing your family and those closest to you would also have to live with it, must have been unimaginably painful.

I found Gisèle incredibly courageous, particularly in her decision to waive her anonymity.  She could have chosen to retreat from the public eye, yet instead she chose to stand up and be seen. I found that incredibly powerful.

One thing I struggled with while reading was Gisèle's wish to hold on to the good memories of her life and marriage. Knowing what her husband had done made some of those memories very difficult for me to read about. But I also found myself wondering whether those good memories were, in some way, part of what helped her cope. Perhaps when so much of your life has suddenly been turned upside down, you need to hold on to the parts that were once happy in order to make sense of who you are and how you got there.  Otherwise, as she says, her whole life would have been for nothing.

I also found the first half of the book difficult. There is quite a lot about their early relationship and their life together, and I wasn’t always comfortable reading about those happy times knowing what was eventually revealed. It gave those memories a very different and unsettling meaning.

This was a hard read. Some of the content is deeply disturbing and, at times, I found it genuinely difficult to take in. But ultimately I’m glad I read it.

What stayed with me most was not just the horror of what Gisèle experienced, but her determination to move forward and reclaim her life. There is something incredibly powerful about seeing someone refuse to let the worst thing that happened to them become the whole story of who they are.

I finished the book feeling a strange mixture of sadness, anger and, surprisingly, hope for future.

It has certainly left me with a greater awareness of domestic abuse and chemical submission and of how hidden it can be, even within what may appear from the outside to be an ordinary relationship.

A very difficult book, but ultimately one I’m glad I read.

Angela

Angela is away travelling but sent a brief summary of, in her words, 'an uncomfortable book, and a very difficult read, but maybe a necessary one'

I was fascinated by the trial at the heart of this book, and was one of those who was incredulous that this abuse had been going on for 10 years, and that she had absolutely no idea. It is clear from the book that there were red flags in relation to her husband, and his behaviour, that were ignored by Gisèle and others. And it is horrifying to read that his abuse of his wife was only discovered by accident after his arrest for up skirting. It could still be going on if this arrest had not taken place!

The scale of the abuse is inconceivable. And yet she is not cowered by it, and holds those responsible for it to account. So, whilst I do not find her a particularly likeable character in this book, I respect her indomitable spirit. And it is heartwarming that her unwavering belief in love is rewarded with a happy ending with a new love. She deserves a happy ending.

I don’t think the book is particularly well written. It is hard to follow at times in the way it is written, especially the visits to the past. It is not a book I would choose to read. And it is not a book I enjoyed reading. That said it is a book that needed to be written and to be read. As the by-line in the title says ‘shame has to change sides’.

Conclusion

Our bookclub had very similar feelings towards the book and the fact it was a fascinating and compelling book whose story needed to be told, especially in light of recent news events regarding chemical submission. We all felt Gisèle was a very brave and dignified women who was single minded in her pursuit of her abusers and was driven to the end.

"Shame has to change sides"