This book, finalist for the 2024 Goncourt Prize, moves us with its poetry and personal story

This Goncourt Prize outsider book still managed to reach the final, here's why. But also why did he lose?

On November 4, the Goncourt Prize announced its big winner. This is the book of Camel Daoud called Houris. Houris was already expected, as well as the work of Gaël Faye to become the winner of the competition. There were a total of 4 finalists for this award. The two authors found themselves a little outsiders of the price unfortunately. Among them, we find Sandrine Collette with Madelaine before dawn et Archipelagos d’Hélène Gaudy. The two authors were rewarded and recognized for the beauty and poetry of their works. However, one has more harsh and moderate criticism in the positive than the other. This is the second, but why?

A book with a metaphorical beginning

It all starts when the author notices that an island has the same first name as her father. The island Jean-Charles is located in Louisiana and has two particularities. The first is that it will disappear. The second is that it is the first island, according to Hélène Gaudy, which will disappear due to rising water levels linked to global warming. She thus begins to take an interest in this island which gradually pushes her to take an interest in her father. Their identical name allows for a link and beautiful metaphors at the beginning of the novel.

A poetic and family story

Hélène's father always told her that he had very little memory. Despite his daughter's questions, he gave very few details about his history and his past. Fortunately, he retained many objects that he has accumulated in his life. Through these objects, the author and main character of this book attempts to reconstruct the life of his fatherbut also his grandfather. Very carried by places and objects, the book takes us towards different adventures starting from finds of the author. Through the book, she will attempt to create a portrait of his father. She tries to create decorations that she could share with him. In this story, she strives to restore her father's memory. His father also writes, and accumulates objects that do not seem to have any connection with his personal history.

A book a little too personal?

His father's writings and his search for “collective memory” can lose us a little sometimes.

This very personal story can be debated. Indeed, many people may tune out the story because it becomes too personal for one to become attached to it. However, the author who likes to leave places, has a poetic and elegant writing which makes reading much more relaxed. This allows him not to get lost in the many objects and other places to which the book takes us. Finally, the objects that are part of the “collective memory” can take us back to the journey of constructing the portrait of his father. An author Babelio writes “The writing is undeniably poetic and elegant. However, I quickly got away from this text which is intimate, but which left out the reader that I am.”