| The Book of Proper Names | |
| Title Orig: | Robert des noms propres |
| Translator: | Shaun Whiteside |
| Border: | yes |
| Author: | Amélie Nothomb |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Language: | French |
| Genre: | Novel |
| Release Date: | 2002 |
| Pages: | 170 |
| Isbn: | 2-226-13389-5 |
| Preceded By: | The Enemy's Cosmetique |
| Followed By: | Antichrista |
The Book of Proper Names[1] (French: '''Robert des noms propres''') is a Belgian novel by Amélie Nothomb.[2] [3] [4] It was first published in 2002. It is a romanticized account of the life of the singer RoBERT,[5] [6] whom Nothomb became acquainted with as an avid admirer of her songs.
In a vaguely surreal story, an extraordinary little girl is born from strange circumstances - her mother murdered her father, gave birth in prison, and then hanged herself. Plectrude, as the girl is unfortunately named by her mother, is adopted by her aunt and lives a fairy-like existence until she enrolls into the Paris Opera Ballet School, a rigorous institution portrayed as a "scalpel to slice away the last flesh of childhood."[7] [8] [9]