“La panthère des neiges” is a novel written by Philippe Tesson in 2019. It is a story that tells of an experience, a geographical and introspective journey.
It all started with the invitation of the wildlife photographer Vincent Munier. He suggested that he go to Tibet in the footsteps of an animal on borrowed time, the snow leopard. He wanted Shard to be able to caption the photos taken there for a photo book. What he did. But back in France, Tesson also wanted to tell about these moments. “The snow leopard” was therefore born at Gallimard. And that year she received the prestigious Renaudot prize.
In this text not only the author gave an account of his trip and the rare appearances of the animal, but he mixed his reflections on the world and evoked the loss of some of his relatives, in particular that of his mother. It was a big bookstore success. The pocket followed, meeting the same fate.
The reissue is illustrated with 100 unpublished photos by Vincent Munier taken on the spot. We are therefore going to rediscover the text with the images under our eyes.
Note that a documentary on the journey of Tesson Munier and their two other travel companions, Munier’s wife and assistant, will be released in theaters in December. The photographer’s wife had shot videos during the trip.
You see me coming I would tell you that here the words take even more magnitude, the‘immersion is total. The photos are simply sublime. You can feel the patience, the wild nature, the cold, the hope of meeting… It is suddenly a total work on this moment which has passed them all. It’s an album, a beautiful book, a rare object.
Two options either you read it and it will be even more moving to reread passages with the images to discover, or you missed it and you have another chance to be able to immerse yourself in this magnificent text. Lucky, the trip will be even more beautiful!
“The snow panther” text by Sylvain Tesson, photos by Vincent Munier, this is the new edition offered by Gallimard at 29.90 euros.