RTL GUEST – Amanda Sthers: “I had the impression that if I wrote this book, my father was going to die”

Can fiction rub off on reality? Maybe to believe Amanda Sthers. In his latest book, Gestures, published by Stock, it evokes the disappearance of her character’s father, Marc.

“It’s strange because, for a long time, I pushed away this book which was there, in the background, in a corner of my head. And I shifted it, I shifted it, because I always had the impression that if I wrote it, my father would die, because it is a child’s farewell to his father, explains the novelist. He’s doing well, that’s good, but I was so afraid of damaging something about him. I was saying goodbye to an imaginary father, certainly, but still, there are always bridges between reality and fiction.”

A book which also depicts a family fresco in which the author traces the origins, transmission and weight of family legacies. A bridge with reality sinceAmanda Sthers chose to distance herself from her real name, Amanda Queffélec-Maruani, to create.

“When I’m a writer, I’m no one’s daughter, no one’s wife, and no one’s mother. It’s my name, indicates the guest of Xavier de Moulins in At the heart of creation, an RTL podcast. There are many authors, moreover, who have chosen not to be mothers so as not to have to say to themselves, my child will be ashamed if he reads me, I might make him uncomfortable. So it’s a pure and harsh form of freedom. When we are an artist, we are not allowed to be completely free, there was a need to free oneself from all ties.”

>> At the heart of creationa podcast presented by Xavier de Moulins. Every Saturday on RTL, in RTL Evening, the journalist takes us to meet men and women who have decided to devote their lives to an art. Writers, filmmakers, cooks or even singers and photographers, they reveal their secrets and will inspire you. Find the entire interview on podcast every Saturday, as well as a bonus episode, The Essentials, every Wednesday.

Read more