Sophie Divry continues to explore literary forms and genres. Her next book, Fantastique histoire d’amour, is a popular novel conceived as a serial, mixed with fantasy, a love story set in the backdrop of contemporary France. It will be published by Le Seuil.
The writer talks about the genesis of the novel:
“One day when I was in residency in Brive, the director of the library, with whom I had become friendly during my stay (I was writing La Condition pavillonnaire at the time), asked me, “I would like to read a beautiful love story, what do you recommend?”
I had suggested War and Peace to her, for Natacha and Prince André. But we quickly realized that classical literature was not full of love stories. Or at least not positive love stories. It is not the core subject of Michel Houellebecq, Annie Ernaux or Antoine Volodine’s works, to mention three contemporary authors that I appreciate. In the end, this subject, which is said to be rehashed, is not addressed so frontally in literature. That was in 2014. I was a bit saddened to see that love, happy love, was finally left only to sentimental novels.
I’ve written other novels since that librarian’s remark. But I had kept this idea in mind.”