You have had many professional experiences in cinema, but why did you turn to writing?
Gilles Legardinier: “All my experiences have a common denominator: the taste for others and the search for feeling. In cinema, I discovered that the true power of evocation comes from writing, whether from the screenplay or from the direction of actors. What made me switch to writing was a negative experience, in cinema: when you are on a script, at the moment you write a line, there are 50 idiots giving their opinion. Whereas in literature, the only idiot I have to get along with is me! I still work in cinema but I have the privilege of being able to do it with people I love and have known for a long time.”
All your Books start with “It was dark, a little cold”, why?
“From my first book, I felt like I needed an iconic phrase and I really liked the idea. So it became my “Once upon a time”! For me, “It was dark, a little cold” is already the beginning of a story and/or a setting. It's a feeling that we all know, in general, and it's conducive to meeting people, adventure and shared emotions. Which means that I write for people who feel and not for those who judge.”
Where do you draw your inspiration, like for your latest work, released on October 2?
“I always write about people who are at a point in their life where everything is going down and they decide to fight. What inspires me is the difficulty of life and the way to get through it differently. This is the heart of my novels. When it takes place in an everyday world, we say it's comedy and when it takes place in a historical world, it's thriller. But I don't care about these labels! The title “I started by dying” finds its full meaning and this book is a true hymn to life. This work is faithful to what I always do. It is both optimistic and tinged with humor. The story takes place in Scotland, where the main character will fall into a trap that has been waiting for him for four hundred years… Let's not spoil anything, let's leave the pleasure to the readers! “.
Practical
Gilles Legardinier will be at a signing session, on Saturday December 7, 2024, from 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Fnac, in the Carrefour gallery, in Plouzané. Contact: tel. 02 98 01 75 10.
France
Books
