“The Augustus Under the bark of the ash beats the heart of the patriarch” a book by Jo Valentin has just been published by Dolmazon du Cheylard.
The author of “The Augustus Under the bark of the ash beats the heart of the patriarch” is Jo Valentin, originally from Saint-Jeures, priest currently stationed in Landos, after having worked in various parishes. There, at the age of 75, he signed his first novel. And he warns: “This book has nothing religious, I would not want to deceive readers by highlighting my status as a priest. It is thanks to confinement that I had the time to write down my memories through this fictionalized story. »
These times that the under 20s…
“The facts, the characters draw their Source from my memory. I come back to facts, stories, people with a link to the territory. However, I made sure not to situate things. I let my imagination wander too, in these times that those under 20 cannot experience. I have a certain ability to write but I didn’t think this story was intended to be published. »
Without nostalgia
It was through a discussion with Georges Lezotre from Yssingelais that the idea of proposing this manuscript to a publishing house emerged. The editor of Cheylard Jean-Paul Dolmazon, contacted, fell in love with Jo Valentin’s Auguste.
In the author’s mind this book is intended to be “a tribute to Augustus, his Joan, to all those we speak of here, to those who resemble them, witnesses of an era which is tending towards its end but which can be viewed without nostalgia as it was harsh and strict, with characters who command respect through their convictions, even in their excesses. »
The story
In the 1980s, Auguste enjoyed a quiet retirement with “his” Jeanne in the small village of Bellecombe, near the abbey of the same name. He lived through the long years of captivity in Germany which formed an unwavering friendship with Father Jean Faure, parish priest of the neighboring village. Life is harsh in these austere countries. Working the land, family life, mutual aid between neighbors have forged entire characters, never compromising on principles.
A Polish refugee in Bellecombe
Far from Bellecombe, Poland experiences the tumults of the social revolution and the young Yatseck, an activist for the Solidarnosc union, must go into exile to protect his life. Chance will lead him to the house of Augustus. There he will discover a warm welcome and a haven of peace before realizing that, there too, the world and times are changing. Work, social life, family life, justice, and even religion experience tensions and crises, against which the great principles of Augustus will have difficulty existing.
Details of daily life
Jo Valentin, over 150 pages, features actors who face, under the gaze of this stranger who has come to live with them, an evolution that they cannot control. The rituals of daily rural life punctuate the story (killing, poaching, bread making, etc.).
Welcome to Auguste, a man with a big heart hidden under bark as rough as that of an ash tree, who places great emphasis on welcome, mutual aid, and friendship.
Practical information
“The Augustus Under the bark of the ash tree beats the heart of the patriarch” by Jo Valentin
Published by Dolmazon
19 euros
