The result of the France Bleu Book Prize – Page des libraires will be known May 23.
In the running, 5 French novels. I present to you today that of Christian Astolfi which bears the title “From our swept away world” published by Le Bruit du Monde, a house located in Marseille.
The story is that of Narval, a worker at the shipyards of La Seyne-sur-mer who worked there from the beginning of the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. He recalls, with us readers, his moments of youth, his life with his wife, we dive back into the economic and social context of that time. We relive the moments of hope linked to the arrival of the left and of François Mitterrand in power. He recites the moments of the great story and that of the smallest, his own.
And then there is a moment when things go wrong! One day, the rumor spreads from closure of construction sites for economic reasons. Narval will therefore fight for a while with his comrades because this site is his universe, it is already there that his father worked, a man who has always fascinated our hero. But another scandal hides behind the first one. And it is that of asbestos very present at that time and who poisoned the bodies of those who handled this matter all day long. While the authorities had long known that it was dangerous. Narval therefore goes with the others to embark on a legal battle.
Christian Astolfi describes this working world to us with a lot of subtlety and tenderness. It is impossible not, during our reading, to feel indignation in front of this corrupt system which thinks only of the profit. This fatality is hard to bear and it is good to remember what happened not so long ago with complete impunity.
This is a book that is not in rage but in observation. It’s very effective and “From our swept away world” could indeed echo more current issues. Congratulations to Christian Astolfi for the sobriety and power of his book.