In journalism, writer Louise Penny is known for her kindness and generosity in interviews. It is true that, even on the other end of the line, her frank laughter, her transparency and her sincere interest in her interlocutor suggest that she could easily become a friend, a confidant.
We are even surprised to find it quite natural that she won the heart of one of the most influential women on the planet, the former United States Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and this, although that they do not live in the same country, that they do not evolve in the same environment and that everything seems, at first sight, to separate them.
It was through Hillary Clinton’s best friend — Betsy, now deceased — that they met. “In 2016, just before the American elections, Betsy mentioned in an interview that she and Hillary loved reading the same books to discuss them afterwards,” says Louise Penny.
“So the reporter — God bless her — asked her what book they were currently sharing. By the happiest of coincidences, they were reading one of mine. Later, Betsy and I met at a launch in Chicago, and it was love at first sight. »
A few months later, after the election, the Quebec writer was invited to meet Hillary Clinton at her residence in New York. ” I was terrified. However, the woman I met is not the one you see on television, unless you pay attention. She was generous, hilarious and attentive. I had just lost my husband. We were two women who had just gone through horrible bereavements, overwhelming experiences. It allowed us to connect intimately. »
Write in tandem
The writer, who has had great success with her series of detective novels starring Inspector Gamache, says to herself the first surprise that this fruitful friendship has given birth to a novel – a political thriller to boot. Approached by their respective agent to collaborate on a book project, the two women had their reservations. “Hillary was afraid it would affect our friendship. For my part, I was not sure of being able to write a thriller, even less with two. But it was very early in the pandemic and there wasn’t much to do. We decided to give it a try. »
The end product, state of terrorin a translation by Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné, offers a fascinating incursion into the maze of American politics and diplomacy, multiplying protocol details and shocking revelations without ever losing an ounce of dramatic tension.
In power for only a few weeks, Ellen Adams, the new American Secretary of State, has to deal with a series of terrorist attacks unleashed in some of the largest cities in Europe. Then begins a vast game of chess where the nuclear arms race, the political instability of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, the fine strategists of the Russian mafia and an American government which must regain confidence and dignity on the international stage.
“I first asked Hillary what her worst nightmare was when she was in office, what kept her up at night. She came back to me with three scenarios, which then became my nightmares too, says Louise Penny laughing. It seemed obvious to me that the nuclear option had great narrative potential. »
Women at the center of the action
The dread of a nuclear war is indeed enough to make people shudder, even more so since Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, raising the specter of a world conflict.
The two friends did not hesitate to add a touch of humor to the story and to play with exaggerations and clichés. History remains, however, shot through with terrifying flashes of lucidity, especially when he plays with the disproportionate egos of politicians eager for power and recognition through, among other things, the figure of a former American president who undermined the credibility of the country, not shy to make a few sprains to democracy in passing.
“It was important not to shrink from the political reality, the threats to democracy and the twists to which the word ‘patriotism’ is subjected in our time. Before January 6, 2021 and the assault on the Capitol, no one would have believed in this character, pushed to his climax. Now, reality surpasses fiction. »
Ellen Adams, forced to dialogue with these seasoned egocentrists, will have to find her place, overcome her doubts and manage to combine her identities as wife, mother, friend, politician and strategist. This is where Hillary Clinton’s experience is most fruitful.
“She experienced what all women experience at one time or another, to the power of a thousand: invisibility. It was very interesting to understand how a woman navigates in this environment of men, manages to take her rightful place while knowing when to take a step back, when to play the game to better win the game. »