“I didn’t think my first novel would have this future”

She had dreamed of it. It was an Irish publishing house that did it. Gaëlle Bélem sees her first novel A monster is there, behind the door, published in 2020 by Gallimard, translated into English. It’s out this week in Dublin bookstores. Recognition for the Reunionese novelist, especially since the literature of her island has great difficulty exporting. A monster is there, behind the door gives voice to a child unloved by her parents, the Dessaintes. However, she really wants to become someone. Through his story which takes place in Reunion in the 1980s, the history of the island undermined by slavery, poverty, cruelty and superstition emerges.

Bullaun Press, which publishes There’s a monster behind the door, organized a literary tour by Gaëlle Bélem in Ireland for the release of the book. The author does not shy away from her pleasure. The program is busy, but she lends herself to all the conferences and signings with enthusiasm. In Ireland, in Dublin, booksellers like to offer Books signed by their authors. Gaëlle Bélem signs stacks of novels in three Dublin bookstores (Hodges Figgis, Chapters and The Winding Stair) without seeing her readers. A curious habit which is hardly common in France and which amuses the Réunion novelist.

She finally manages to see readers on Thursday October 17 at Books Upsairs, Dublin’s oldest independent bookstore, where a book launch party is being held. Mickaël Cronin, professor of French at the prestigious Trinity College university, presents the work There’s a monster behind the door. According to him, there are many similarities between Reunion and Ireland, even though they are thousands of kilometers away. “The Irish in the 16th and 17th centuries experienced slavery due to the fairly violent colonization of the island by the English. “But historical experiences can have an influence on people’s daily experiences.”specifies Mickaël Cronin. “There is a kind of fatalism that we find among many Reunionese people in this book which reminded me a little of the fatalism of the people of my childhood in the 60s and 70s. We had economic misery, the war in Northern Ireland, very high unemployment rates, as is the case on the island of Reunion.adds the professor. The context has changed a lot since the 90s with the rise of “Celtic Tiger” and the economic renewal of the island. However, “c“Previous violence, this memory of dispossession, this inferiority complex vis-à-vis the English neighbors remains somewhere engraved” in the collective memory of the country, notes Mickael Cronin.

Is it for these reasons that Ireland is interested in Gaëlle Bélem’s story? For publisher Bridget Farrell, founder of Bullaun press, it’s undeniable. According to her, it is necessary to add a few ingredients, because if she chose to publish Gaëlle Bélem’s book it is also because she appreciates it.style, humor and subversive side“. Gaëlle Bélem indeed likes to undermine the clichés that stick to the surface of Reunion, its beaches, its sunny climate and its volcano. She prefers to tackle the dark sides of her island, its history and its secrets The novelist thus appreciates “curiosity“of these Irish people met in bookstores or at university. Even if the subjects covered by the book”can be violent“, “there is an appetite, an attraction” among these future readers which delights the author.

This is the second time that Gaëlle Bélem has presented her work abroad. Last year, she gave several conferences in Sweden in French alliances and French high schools on the subject of her second novel, The rarest fruit. Published by Gallimard in 2023, this story traces the story of Edmond Albius, this Reunionese slave, discoverer of the vanilla pollination method.

In Ireland, from Dublin to Galway, the two translators of Gaëlle Bélem’s first novel, Kareen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert, are participating in this literary tour. Their names also appear on the cover of There’s a monster behind the door, proof that Bullaun Press values ​​their work. One of the two translators, Laetitia Saint-Loubert, lived for several years in Reunion where she taught English at the university. It was she who had the idea of ​​proposing to an English-speaking publishing house the translation ofA monster is there, behind the door. She remembers buying the book in a bookstore on the island in 2020, in the middle of the Covid epidemic and having it “read in one go“She enjoyed it.”the voice of the child narrator who recounts with her caustic humor and caustic tone Reunion in reverse of the postcard image”. The translator also liked “the presence of Creole in the novel”. She also made the choice with her friend and co-translator Kareen Fleetwood of “keep Reunion Creole in the English translation” even if it required quite a bit of explanation at the bottom of the page. “The literature of Reunion Island travels little” believes Laetitia Saint-Loubert so it was worth it.

Approached by this translator, Bridget Farrell, founder of Bullaun Press, quickly accepted the project of publishing in English A monster is there, behind the door. His very young publishing house is the only one in Ireland to offer contemporary foreign literature. But the publishing economy being constrained, she sought funding. And to his great surprise, the reception from the French embassy in Ireland was most favorable.

The embassy mobilized to obtain the publication assistance program which goes through the French Institute of Paris and advised the publisher to turn to the National Book Center (CNL) which has dedicated funding . Céline Place, the new ambassador, specifies that Bullaun Press thus obtained “1200 euros from the publication assistance program and 3000 euros from the CNL”. “With small amounts, we can give a very significant boost to a French author and strengthen the links between France and Ireland.”notes the ambassador with pride.

With the entire team that developed There’s a monster behind the doorGaëlle Bélem therefore met Céline Place at the French embassy in Dublin as well as the cultural advisors. She spoke with her inimitable tone about her second novel, The rarest fruit, the story of Edmond Albius and his extraordinary discovery of the pollination of vanilla while he was a slave on a plantation in Reunion. Conquered, the ambassador found the novelist “charismatic and radiant.

The only Reunionese novelist published by Gallimard and who “is exported outside France“, Gaëlle Bélem imagines the sequel. A collection of “horrific news” is in preparation. The novelist is inspired by her work asassessor at the children’s court which she combines with teaching history at the University of Reunion.

Gaëlle Bélem also risks returning soon to the land of Guinness and Saint-Patrick, because her second novel, The rarest fruit, should be released in English in May 2025, published by the same publishing house. The two translators are about to submit their manuscript.

Is the novelist riding an international wave? It looks good since his novel about Edmond Albius is also due to be released in the United States and Italy in 2025.”Americans have always had an interest in the history of slavery.” notes the novelist. As for the Italians, Gaëlle Bélem thinks that the explanation is perhaps culinary. “Italian ice cream, vanilla“, it is an institution in the land of “ice cream”. The novelist’s Italian tour is also being prepared with at least two stopovers in Naples and Rome.