Is Maxime Chattam's new novel Prime Time inspired by the life of his wife Faustine Bollaert?

As intriguing and fascinating as ever, Maxime Chattam strikes again with a most mysterious work. As we dive into a story that takes place on a television set, could it be possible that the novelist was inspired by his wife and TV presenter, Faustine Bollaert? This Thursday, November 7, the author answered this question, exclusively, for Télé Loisirs.

Prime Time: the new novel by Maxime Chattam

You won't be able to put this one down either! Prime Time of Maxime Chattam tells the terrible story of a hostage taking which takes place on a television set. The news set turns into a real horror scene. However, always live, millions of spectators attend. At the same time, the reader is completely drawn into the story. The husband of Faustine Bollaert multiplies the surprises and moments of tension to captivate until the final outcome.

Published in Albin Miche editionsl, October 30, 2024, this plot was not the one he had in mind at the very beginning of the writing. The actor reveals to Tele-Leisure the idea which he finally gave up: “At the beginning, I wanted to tell the story of the life of an animator with all that it implies and there, I realized that I was very influenced by Faustine”. Although the Prime Time storyline is very intriguing, we can say that this one would have been just as interesting.

Was Maxime Chattam inspired by his wife Faustine Bollaert to write Prime Time?

Exclusively for Télé Loisirs, this Thursday, November 7, the author spoke about the writing of his novel. So what about his inspiration? Maxime Chattam says: “That is to say, there is the part of the conscious and the unconscious. For a novelist who likes to write thrillers, obviously, a TV set is extremely attractive because “so much can be done, there are so many options”.

For a long time, the novelist had forbidden himself from writing about the world of television for fear of influencing the image of his wife, Faustine Bollaert. Maxime Chattam explains: “I was afraid for a long time that through my words and what I was going to say, people would judge my wife. I especially didn't want us to go in that direction. If one day, she has something to say about TV, she's big and she'll do it herself. She doesn't need me. […] And then at one point, I said to myself that after thirteen years, it was time to get started.” Finally, the author admits that there was surely an unconscious element in the writing of this novel.