“This is not an apology of rape, far from it. This is not an essay on woman, and their behaviors or reactions when they are confronted with such crime, but the voice of a particular woman, rid of misogynistic clichés in which they are still often locked. No sentimentalization, no victimization, no dependency on men, no blinding maternal feelings… A free woman, therefore a politically incorrect one.” —Les Inrockuptibles

“There is no provocation in this novel, but on the contrary Djian has the ability to show, without ever judging, what are the mechanics of both soul and heart.” —L’Express

“Incisive, corrosive, sexy, as sad as it is funny, and incontestably exhilarating.” —Vogue

“An intoxicating novel for sure.” —Lire

“Literary and humanly remarkable.” –Télérama

“With Elle, Djian continues to explore the infinite land of language with the burning desire to escape the impotence of a certain type of French novel.” —Marianne

“His writing, simple and vivacious, filled with a violence that threatens to explode at every line creates a double-entry suspense: psychological and romantic.” —Aujourd’hui

“Be aware. This is a literary work, a powerful book, a novel that breaks and enters into forbidden lands.” —Paris Match

“Philippe Djian has the knack to persuade his reader to accept the humanity of the inhuman things he describes, and that pain and pleasure don’t have the same borders as good and evil. But the reader doesn’t have time to think, he has a book to finish. A book that barges in on him until the last chapter. If one thinks that it is the story that gives the speed, one is wrong; it’s the art of writing.” —Le Magazine Littéraire