Literary Craving

Prétextat Tach is a well-known writer and a Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature. A genius, in the eyes of the world. He is also a racist, a misanthrope, a misogynist, an egocentric and an utterly despicable men. A character so full of contradictions as he is full of himself. He is also about to die. The whole world wants a piece of the exclusive. He agrees to be interviewed by a handful of journalists ( after a careful selection based on the writer's prejudices). Throughout a series of dialogues, we witness how he manages to baffle and humiliate them while he destroys their self-esteem in a just a few minutes. The last reporter, a woman, survives the first onslaught and unravels the mystery of his last novel ( unfinished because "every writer should leave a novel unfinished in order to keep his credibility") . Yet, is she better than her colleagues, better than Monsieur Tach? (yet this novel goes beyond these two questions in a way I can't explain)

This is the first book Nothomb published in 1992. Her very first book and yet remarkable beyond words. It is hardly possible to avoid feeling drawn into the dialogue in spite of its cruelty. As each topic is addressed, a whirl of mix feelings takes over the reader and by the end of the novel this reader has certainly not escaped unscathed.