In his editorial (edition of June 29-30), journalist Jean-Claude Vantroyen praised the merits of reading while camping, considering that the 500 grams of a book weighing down a backpack are well worth carrying, for the pleasure of reading that they will provide.
A delicious ode to outdoor reading, inviting you to enjoy these few minutes of adventure along the lines every day. “ Early in the morning, between the gym and breakfast. Between dinner and nap. Between the dishes and putting out the lights, there, under the sleeping bag with his flashlight “, we can read.
Coming to the end of his post, the journalist installed in this bucolic, even rural atmosphere, concludes: “ And if you choose your novel badly, if it falls out of your hands, if it is really bad, you can always light the fire with its pages… “In the offices of the Team Premier Degré (for whom the second degree is nonsense), the red alert is launched with the initiation of the Orsec system and deployment of the Sentinelle plan.
These grumpy vigilantes, having come across the editorial of Le Soir, turned to ActuaLitté to deplore – and some, without tenderness – the comments made. “It is still an incitement to destroy by fire, an auto-da-fé“Certainly not to silence a work deemed dangerous, but on the pretext of its poor quality.
Obviously, the mental image that this expiatory ceremony induces where the disillusioned camper gets rid of an unpleasant reading, tearing up the object, throwing page after page into the flames, was not the happiest.
Thus, contacted by ActuaLitté, Jean-Claude Vantroyen readily admits to awkwardness: “Obviously, it was humorous and there was no question of imagining a book burning. I had simply thought of a campfire and my imagination did the rest… But, well, that was not a relevant idea in these moments of crisis. And I regret having let it slip onto paper and onto the internet.»
And as proof of good will, the web version has been corrected:
«I remember reading Kessel (which one? I forgot) in a scout camp in this uncomfortable, but comforting, position. And it is perhaps this somewhat clandestine situation that made me love this writer.»
To imagine that people were shocked by reading the first version considering that it was really advice to follow would be quite absurd. Between the blunder and a misreading, the conditions were ripe for a misunderstanding.
A novelist close to the editorial staff adds with a broad smile (since it must be said): “Daniel Pennac should be asked if he would agree to consider adding an additional right: that of the reader to burn a poorly written novel.»
Not digitally, then…
Photo credits: frantafalta, CC 0
