In his new novel, Christian Signol “gives voice to the wolf”

It was in the cozy offices of his publisher, Albin Michel, that Christian Signol, passing through Paris, received us on September 22, 2025, the first day of autumn: quite a symbol for this novelist whom we have been following for several years for The Pilgrimand who likes to mix the thread of the seasons with that of his intrigues.

Calm, attentive, he evokes White Fang by Jack London, this childhood novel that shaped him. With Of wild beautyhe comes closer than ever by giving voice to a wolf. A way, he confides, of paying homage to the American writer, lover of the Great North, who transmitted to him a taste for the wild and the living.

Your new novel marks a turning point in your work: you give voice to a wolf. Why this choice?

It came naturally. Since childhood, I have been fascinated by wolves. I read White Fang by Jack London at ten years old, and this book had a profound impact on me. He opened me up to this idea that we could make wild animals think.

Today, at 78 years old, I wanted, in turn, to try this literary experience. I set the action on the Limousin high plateau, a territory that I know well and that I love deeply. It is therefore not a shift, but a continuity, a natural extension of my work.

Why now? Is this linked to the hot news surrounding the status of wolves in Europe?

Not directly. I started this novel two or three years ago, at a time when tensions were not as high. But the situation has evolved: attacks have increased, a pack has settled in Limousin. And then, in June 2025, the European Union voted to end the strict protection status of the wolf. My novel has therefore become, despite itself, very current.

You clearly position yourself in favor of biodiversity, but you also defend breeders. How do you reconcile these two worlds?

I am convinced that cohabitation is possible. I suffer as much from seeing a sheep slaughtered as from seeing a wolf slaughtered. Breeders love their animals, they raise them with care, often bottle-fed. They are going through a very difficult economic situation, and predation aggravates their distress.

But humanity does not have the moral right to exterminate a species. We must find a balance, provide the necessary means to protect the herds: patous, scarers, surveillance brigades… It is a question of political will and financing.

How did you work to write this novel?

I have the habit of researching a lot. For this one, I spent two to three months reading, consulting scientific studies, and I met an agent from the French Biodiversity Office. In the field, I observed the operation of photo traps and cameras used to detect the passage of wild animals.

All this documentation was essential. To avoid falling into anthropomorphism, I made sure to remain faithful to the instinctive behavior of the wolf, without giving it human feelings. It was a writing challenge, but also an exciting process.

You say that this novel is a manifesto. In what?

It seeks to advance mutual understanding, to show that dialogue is possible. I imagined two couples: one of breeders, the other of defenders of biodiversity.

And I gave the wolf a voice, Lupo. They are fictional characters, but the wolves are very real. My ambition is to raise awareness, to make known a complex reality, without judging or deciding. Simply by telling.

And now ?

I keep faith in the dialogue between breeders and defenders of biodiversity. We must move towards reason, not towards violence, and give everyone – men and wolves alike – the opportunity to live with dignity.

I will continue to carry this message, particularly at the Brive Book Fair, an event to which I am very keen and where I will enjoy meeting my readers.