« Receiving the Castel Prize is great. It’s a reward that goes straight to my heart. Tonight, the night is a novel. What more could you ask for? », Reacted Grégoire Bouillier.
In Orangerie syndrome, the author finds himself face to face with Water lilies of Monet at the Musée de l’Orangerie and, against all expectations, a deep anguish overwhelms him. The huge panels trigger an unexpected uneasiness in him. Wouldn’t art depend as much on the artist as on the one who contemplates it? Having become his alter ego for the occasion, detective Bmore, Bouillier decides to elucidate this mystery. Would Monet have concealed something, or even someone, in his Water Lilies? Why this obsession with the flowers of his garden, painted nearly four hundred times in thirty years?
The investigation then begins, mixing botany, secrets of Monet’s love life and unconscious interpretations of the work. Bmore explores the Orangerie, Giverny, Japan, and even Auschwitz-Birkenau to understand this “ Orangerie syndrome “. A quest which reveals a mystery greater than that of painting, that of the space between the eye and what it perceives.
Grégoire Bouillier, born in 1960, has already written several noted works: Report on me (Allia, Prix de Flore 2002), The Mystery Guest, Cape Canaveral (Allia, 2004, 2008), The M File, books 1 and 2 (Flammarion, 2017 and 2018, December Prize) and The Heart does not give in (Flammarion, 2022, Prix André Malraux and Prix Honoré de Balzac). This new book was published on August 21, 2024.
Michel Bernard also recently accused Grégoire Bouillier of being strongly inspired by his novel The Two Remorses of Claude Monet to write Orangery Syndrome. According to the first, the second would have used imagined elements, notably a quote from Clemenceau invented by himself, as well as several descriptions by Camille Monet. Grégoire Bouillier notably responded that “ Michel Bernard talks about Monet, he is not the first. He, like me, will not be the last. »
The Castel Prize jury is made up of: Emma Becker, Claire Berest, Vincent Darré, Étienne Gernelle, Eva Ionesco, Marc Lambron, Justine Lévy, Jean-Noël Pancrazi, Abnousse Shalmani, and Gaël Tchakaloff.
The winner of the Castel Prize is given a Castel membership card, which makes him, for an entire year, the privileged guest of this emblematic place, accompanied by the person of his choice. A plaque engraved with his name is also placed in the Castel library. This year, something new has been added to the awards: a personalized Ex-Libris, designed by Ex-Libris Paris, is offered to the winner.
Co-founded by Castel and Carole Chrétiennot, the Castel Prize recognizes a novel, whether written by a young or established author, that the jury imagines at Jean Castel’s table. The prize evokes the memorable festivals of Castel, where artists, writers, figures from the world of fashion and cinema met, enlivening the nights of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and all of Paris. Mythical evenings, bringing together the most emblematic personalities of this legendary Parisian district.
The first two editions crowned, in 2022, Catherine Millet for Beginnings (Flammarion) and in 2023, Arthur Dreyfus for The Third Hand (P.O.L).
Find the list of French and French-speaking literary prizes
Photo credits: Pascal Ito © Flammarion
By Hocine Bouhadjera
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