Emanuele Trevi is one of those Italian authors recognized in France. It is difficult to explain his success without mentioning these literary prizes such as that of the European Union won in 2012 for “Something written” and more recently the prestigious Italian prize Strega for his latest work “Deux vies” published in France in January 2023.
At 59, Emanuele Trevi has three books translated and published in France by Actes Sud. First of all something written, published in 2013 in France, which allowed him to win the literary prize of the European Union in 2012, then The People of Wood 2017 and Dreams and fables in 2020.
Recently it is two lives published by Philippe Rey (published in January 2023) which won the prestigious Strega prize in 2021, the equivalent of the French Goncourt in Italy. Emanuele Trevi paints a posthumous portrait of two Italian writers, Rocco Carbone and Pia Pera, who died prematurely in 2008 and 2016. How to explain this craze for Italian authors for a few years in France? The Paris Book Festival invites them for its new edition from April 21 to 23 at the ephemeral Grand Palais. Emanuele Trevi is one of them.
Franceinfo Culture: more than 900 Italian authors were translated in France last year. How do you explain this enthusiasm for Italian literature in France?
Emanuele Trevi : I have been studying Stendhal for many years, and in particular his imaginary of Italy, which seems to me to be the greatest and most ingenious construction of a fictional space in the Romantic era. I got an idea: the French mind sees in the Italian mind what the conscience sees in the unconscious. A kind of deep, but distorted similarity. We are like the shadow of France. This is also how I explain the frequent tensions between our political leaders: a lack of confidence in rationality. Maybe, like in Stendhal’s time, it’s about stereotypes. But stereotypes, contrary to what political correctness claims, contain a lot of truth!
How do you position yourself on the French book market?
As I said before, I have a lot of sympathy for clichés. I must say that for me, French is the language of literature, so each time a French translation of one of my books appears, I have the feeling… that it is about the edition original! I am happy to be translated into various languages, but for me, France is the homeland of civilisation, of style, of irony. In another life, I want to be born French!
What is the reception of the French public on your books?
When I read the French reviews of my books, it seems to me that in general the level of literary criticism in France (I am talking about what is written in the newspapers, I know little about academic culture) is higher than in Italy. Even during the presentations I made in France, I feel a strong empathy, perhaps due to the fact that my books can recall those of Emmanuel Carrère and Patrik Modiano, in many respects.
Is it difficult to convince and seduce the Italian public?
I have always derived great satisfaction from my books, even if I have never sold many copies. The destiny of any artist is to live in the desire to be liked, and in that there is always a possibility of frustration, but I was lucky, I can’t complain!
You already have four works translated into French. Are you the one approaching French publishers?
My agent is French, so I let her decide these things. After three books with a fantastic publishing house, South Actsthe last one was released by Philip Rey. I was lucky enough to find two very good translators, Margierite Pozzoli and Nathalie Bauer, who managed to find a French sentence rhythm very close to the original.