the essential
Accustomed to the Marathon des mots, Laurent Binet mixes in his books, notably “HHhH” (Goncourt’s first novel in 2010), historical truth, romantic fiction and political-social observations. A stone’s throw from the first round of the legislative elections, the temptation was great to question him about literature and politics. Encounter.
Laurent Binet will present at the Marathon des mots “Perspective(s)”, a tasty historical and epistolary thriller published by Grasset, around the figure of the Florentine painter Pontormo (1494-1557), whose assassination he imagines… Go meet him and connect him with painting or politics: you will enjoy it!
La Dépêche du Midi: How did you approach writing this new novel?
Laurent Binet: There was the conjunction of three factors: I wanted to return to the detective novel, which I had treated with “The seventh function of language”, in a more classic way, like a whodunit à la Agatha Christie and her codes, her structures: investigation, suspects, resolution. I set the action in Florence, which was at the heart of the Renaissance that I wanted to talk about. The third element was the epistolary approach, quite original it seems to me. This allowed me to go deeper, dig into the psychology of my characters – something that doesn’t usually attract me much. This technique forced me to do it.
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“Words and books are essential in these troubled times”: the Goncourt Jean-Baptiste Andrea prize at the Marathon des mots, in Toulouse
Only his assassination twists the neck of historical truth…
He died of illness and all the historical elements of the novel are verified and proven. The characters lived and died on the correct dates. I immersed myself in the blanks of the story and then embroidered, taking an interest in painting. To tell the truth, it was not Pontormo who interested me, but Vasari. I saw this art critic’s name everywhere and I said to myself: “This guy must have observational qualities.” He knows everything about this “mannerist” movement which succeeded the geniuses Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. There is also a real romantic dimension in Pontormo: the frescoes he painted and which were to rival the Sistine Chapel have all been lost…
What memories do you have of your previous visits to the Marathon des mots?
A dazzling memory. The first time, Antoine de Caunes read “HHhH” in the Carmelite Chapel, it was wonderful. I love this festival and this city: the people who come are curious, caring… I sometimes get tired of writing, of doing interviews, of going to trade shows, but this time, not at all!
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Marathon of words: 130 literary events for its 20th edition in Toulouse
“The only threat is the RN”
We are a few days away from the first round of the legislative elections and we know your appetite for politics…
It’s depressing: my prognosis is a victory without a majority for the RN and a “Belgian” situation: no government for two years! A blockage which would, ultimately, be a lesser evil. It is no mystery to anyone that I am close to the Popular Front and I love the legendary history of the Popular Front of 1936.
Do you see similarities between these two Popular Fronts?
There are heterogeneous teams and rather timid programs which then gave interesting things, such as paid leave in 36, although this proposal was not in the program. We are never safe from a pleasant surprise! This campaign is crazy, people are hysterical! Journalists bear part of the responsibility, by focusing on unimportant things, such as the danger of the Popular Front and its supposed anti-Semitism… Let us not forget that the bourgeoisie is always closer to Hitler than to the Popular Front.
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“I am several readers at the same time”: the novelist Nathacha Appanah at the Marathon of Words
The personality of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, for whom you called for a vote in 2022, poses a problem even within the ranks of the left… Shouldn’t he step aside to guarantee the victory of the left-wing coalition?
I don’t feel like I see him all the time and when I hear him, I hear a man with clear, articulate thoughts. This self-proclaimed anti-Melenchonism makes no sense: he will not be prime minister of a left-wing coalition, that is obvious. Ruffin is best placed. There is no danger Mélenchon. At the international level, it would be more questionable – he was wrong on Syria and also, heavily, on Russia but France is internationally a dwarf. If we were in the United States, this would worry me more.
The priority is this capitalism which will end up making us die and which must be slowed down. What are programs that only engage those who believe in them? Retirement at 60, 62 or 64 for the RN: they don’t care! Their obsession is foreigners. The Popular Front’s program is less left-wing than that of Mitterrand in 1981: increase in the minimum wage, free canteen… I repeat: there is no Mélenchon threat. The only threat is to the National Rally.
