This novel, which was among the finalists for the Femina Prize this fall, is a gentle evocation of the life of a shepherd, which makes us dream of mountains and wide open spaces where we can only hear the sheep’s bells ringing in background noise.
Julien, who calls himself John after his grandfather, also a shepherd, takes care of a flock of sheep in the Jura mountains, in France.
He spends the whole summer in their company, in an old mountain hut at an altitude of 1500 m where only his lover visits him. The isolation has eroded his social skills and he has cut ties with people from his past. But when he learns in the newspaper that a former school friend has been imprisoned for murder, he feels the duty, for some obscure reason, to contact his partner.
His decision will upset the peace of his existence. As he gets closer to her, John finds himself confronted with the person he was 20 years earlier. Little by little, he gives up everything – his projects, his ambitions – and lets himself be drawn into a life that is not his. Can we really free ourselves from our adolescent complexes, from our old grudges and jealousies? And how do you find the courage to follow your own path?
The author of Jim’s novel explores these questions through the choices of a man who, haunted by the memory of old friendships, becomes both lover and surrogate father. A story that reads like a chapter in the life of a person in search of passion, who will eventually find what he loves deeply.
Pierric Bailly will be signing this weekend at the Montreal Book Fair, in addition to participating in the round table Settle scores?in the company of Louis-Daniel Godin and Emmanuelle Pierrot, this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. A meeting with Neige Sinno as well as their publisher at PO L, Frédéric Boyer, is also planned this Saturday evening, at 6:30 p.m., at the Bookstore of Outremont Square.
Lightning
POL
464 pages