“Each painter somehow represents a lover transfixed at the window of the world. This sums up well the posture of Antoine, the narrator of the remarkable first novel by Mathieu Laca. After being hit by a car, the young man finds himself suffering from prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder that prevents him from recognizing faces. In order to remedy the situation, the visual arts student embarks on the execution of a series of portraits, a cathartic experience to say the least. In a realistic setting, the author, who we already knew was a talented painter, allows himself poignant historical, fantastic, romantic and even erotic flights that never dilute the content of his story, quite the contrary. Ample, full of echoes and mise en abyme, powerful symbols and strong images, the novel is a felt hymn to the saving power of art. Note that Mathieu Laca exhibits his portraits ofWriters from here at the Salon Art Club until June 4th.
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