Since 2021, the Cocteau literary prize has been awarded to a first novel which has been able to highlight the French language through the inventiveness of the language, the originality of the narration and the style. The Prize was created at the initiative of the town of Maisons-Laffitte and its mayor Jacques Myard with the aim of honoring the legacy of Jean Cocteau, who spent part of his life in this town.
The initiative promotes culture and supports contemporary writers, while paying tribute to one of the most versatile and influential artists of the 20th century.
During this third edition, six books were selected and submitted to a vote by readers then by a jury composed this year of Alain Pages, archivist in Grosbois and racing commissioner, Sylvain Fortier, Les Chemins du Livre bookstore in Maisons- Laffitte, Alain Fadat, bookseller at Maisons de la Presse at Maisons-Laffitte, Viviane Necchi, French teacher, Laurent Bouexière, artist photographer, Louise de Gussème, wife of Raphaël librarian at Maisons-Laffitte, and Olivier Lavoine, avid reader.
After deliberation, the 2024 Cocteau prize was awarded to Perrine Tripier for her novel “The Precious Wars” by Gallimard. The teacher at a high school in Rennes published her first novel in 2021 at the age of 24, realizing her lifelong dream.
Throughout the pages, the reader follows Isadora’s story and her strong attachment to her home, the place where she spent her entire life and saw herself ending it. However, she must enter a retirement home. This event takes her back to her past which has always been linked to this house. The author takes the reader into the memories of a life that passes to the rhythm of the four seasons. The house becomes an allegory of memory and nostalgia, feelings in which any reader can identify.
This story of love and neurosis between a woman at the end of her life and her house is very touching and has once again won over readers.
Jean Cocteau was present during the award ceremony thanks to the Compagnie Les Ecriés.
And the Cocteau Maisons-Laffitte Prize revives, as Jacques Myard recalled during the presentation of the Prize to Perrine Tripier at the Chateau de Maisons-Laffitte, under the auspices of Louis XIV, the beautiful idea that “France is a cultural nation which establishes its superpower.
The Precious Wars – Perrine Tripier (Éditions Gallimard) https://www.librairiesindependantes.com/product/9782072961076/
The Precious Wars – Perrine Tripier – (Pocket folio)
https://www.librairiesindependantes.com/product/9782073049421/
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