On Nathalie Collard’s radar

The world of ideas is in turmoil. Find out what’s on our columnist’s radar.

The world seen by Lola Lafon

In her new book, which will appear in Quebec around March 5, the novelist gives way to the essayist. It was never too late (Stock) takes on the appearance of a notebook in which she thinks out loud, among other things for her columns published in the daily newspaper Liberation. She offers a look back at personal and collective events that have marked the last two years, with the same vividness as in her novels. Rather than giving up, Lafon takes a step back and thinks about how we can resist. A necessary exercise that I can’t wait to discover.

It was never too late

Lola Lafon

Stock

227 pages

2025 in 10 trends

We can’t blame the magazine The Economist to be frivolous. That’s why I love learning about the trends he identifies for the new year. We can’t be too wrong in predicting that Donald Trump’s arrival in power will have major repercussions. Same thing when we argue that its protectionism risks coming up against Chinese expansionism. The magazine identifies other themes that are likely to make headlines during the year: demography, artificial intelligence, deficit, travel, etc. In the section Wild cards, we try to predict the unpredictable: a solar storm? Another global pandemic? Hoping they’re still a little wrong…

Read the editorial of The Economist (in English; subscription required)

Light on the invisible

A title from the winter literary season that piques my curiosity: The bad days will end by Samuel Mercier, at Lux. The author, who published a collection of poetry around ten years ago, also teaches at the Cégep de Saint-Laurent. His book is presented as a “tribute to the undesirables”, those whom our society makes invisible (old people, poor people, indigenous people, etc.). In this, it is part of a trend, that of shining the spotlight on groups which rarely speak (I am thinking, among others, of Garbage ! published last fall by the same publisher). Looking forward to the end of February to read it.

A documentary about Musk

To say that Alex Gibney’s new documentary is anticipated is an understatement. The man who, among other things, investigated the Church of Scientology (Going Clear), and who also signs the excellent Wise Guy : David Chase and The Sopranosa documentary on the underside of the cult series (to watch on Crave), spent years investigating Elon Musk. We can say that he has a good sense of timing. His documentary should be released in the coming months, probably on HBO. The main person concerned, Musk, who has not even seen it, has already expressed his dissatisfaction publicly. That promises.

A social safety net without deficit?

We tend to think that a strong welfare state automatically translates into a budget deficit. Iceland wants to prove that it can weave a robust social safety net while keeping its budget in the green. This is the challenge taken by the new Prime Minister, Kristrún Frostadóttir, who, at 36, is the youngest leader in the world. At the head of a coalition government – ​​formed with two other parties also led by women – the new PM told The Observer that she is banking on listening to combat the rise of the right and populism. To be continued!

Read the text of The Observer on the website of Guardian (in English)