Our selection of 3 novels about the whirlwind of our lives
Crossing the fire,by Jean-Philippe Blondel, Ed. The iconoclast, 202 pp. ; 20.90 €.
Jean-Philippe Blondel is known for his humanist novels, tender portraits of our contemporaries caught in the trap of standing still, who one day decide to open up to others and spread their wings (Laying bare, Ed. Buchet-Chastel; Coffee without filter, Ed. The Iconoclast…). And also for his children's novels on brotherhood, love, and the climate crisis. On the other hand, we do not know, even if the author slips a lot of himself into his works, the cracks that run through him. At 17, he lost his mother and sister in a car accident. Then his father, at 21, also following an accident. And three decades later, in the time of Covid, the novelist was diagnosed with cancer which suddenly plunged him back into his tragic youth: it was the ring of fire. The astonishment, the panic. In this story full of self-deprecation and energy, he recounts his “journey through fire”, paying tribute to caregivers, recounting his lifelong effort to find his place and continue to love.
Our opinion: PP
