France's top literary prize, the Goncourt, was awarded Tuesday to former film director Jean-Baptiste Andrea for his novel "Veiller sur elle" ("Watch Over Her"), set in Italy's dark fascist years.
Andrea started off as a screenwriter and film director in a career that saw him make a handful of movies including the 2006 black comedy "Big Nothing", starring "Friends" actor David Schwimmer.
The 52-year-old has also made an impact in the English-speaking world with two well-received translations, "A Hundred Million Years and a Day" and "Devils and Saints".
He turned to novels relatively late in his 40s, with his first book published in 2017. "Watch Over Her" published by l'Iconoclaste is his fourth novel.
His latest 600-page epic focuses on Mimo, a sculptor from a poor background, and his romance with Viola, a woman from a much wealthier family. It is set in Italy as the country slides into fascism.
"This is 10 months of preparation, in my head, in a notebook. I don't write a line of the novel. And one day, I say to myself: my story is there, so I can't think twice and wonder where it's going," he told broadcaster France Inter in September.
"I wanted to write something bigger than what I had written before, to leave behind all the limits that I had initially imposed on myself in 20 years of cinema... but which I had also paradoxically imposed on my first three novels," he said.
— Académie Goncourt (@AcadGoncourt) November 7, 2023
Homage to Italy
"It's a homage to Italy, the country of my ancestors," he added.
Andrea's book beat the favourite, Eric Reinhardt's stylistically bold novel "Sarah, Susanne et l'ecrivain" ("Sarah, Susanne and the Writer"), which tells the story of a woman driven to despair by an awful husband.
Another favourite was Gaspard Koenig with "Humus", the story of two young agronomists who criticise intensive agriculture.
Neige Sinno was also in the running with "Triste Tigre" ("Sad Tiger"), an account of the incest of which she was a victim as a child as well as an essay on sexual violence.
Her book won the Femina Prize on Monday.
According to a century-old tradition, the Goncourt winner was revealed at lunchtime at the Drouant restaurant in central Paris.
As well as prestige, the award guarantees a boost in sales – to the tune of around 400,000 copies, on average over the past 20 years.
An exception was the Goncourt winner in 2022, "Vivre vite" ("Live Fast") by Brigitte Giraud, which disappointed with fewer than 300,000 extra copies sold.
Immediately after the Goncourt, the Renaudot jury announced its 2023 literary prize which went to novelist Ann Scott for "Les Insolents" ("The Insolent").
It retraces the story of 40-year-old Alex, a film music composer, who decides to leave Paris to reinvent herself, wishing to live "elsewhere and alone".
The essay prize was awarded to Jean-Luc Barré for the first volume of his biography of Charles De Gaulle, published by Grasset.
(with AFP)
