[Portrait] One month, one author: Delphine de Vigan

Born on March 1, 1966, Delphine de Vigan is one of the most recognized contemporary authors of the last ten years. On the occasion of the release of her novel Les Loyautés, published on January 3, 2018 by JC Lattès, we invite you to get to know this author, who never ceases to surprise us. 

Its beginnings:

De Vigan was born in Hauts-De-Seine in 1966. Until 2001, she lived a life that would be described as "mundane". Like most people, she works in a company in which she has been working for years. Then, in 2001, Days Without Hunger was released, published under the pseudonym Lou Delvig. This title, to be understood under a play on words, is an autobiographical novel that tells the anorexic period that the author experienced. We understand a little better why the author decided to reveal it under a pseudonym, especially since it was her first published novel (by Grasset). The author returned in 2005, but this time under her real name. The novel is entitled Les Jolis Garçons and this time, published by Jean-Claude Lattès. After this publication she decided to assume Days without hunger under her real name. That same year, his novel Un soir de décembre was published. Then in 2007, it finally met a mainstream success. 

The decade of success:

In 2007 is published No et moi toujours by JC Lattès. This story traces the friendship of two girls, one of whom is homeless.This novel earned De Vigan his first awards: the Booksellers' Prize in 2008 and the Rotary International Prize in 2009. After that, she will receive awards for each of her novels. In 2009, Les heures souterraines was released, a dark novel about harassment at work. She was awarded the Prix des lecteurs de Corse, 2010 and the Prix du roman d'entreprise 2009. Finally, she met her greatest success in 2011 for Rien ne s'opposition à la nuit, still published by JC Lattès. He won no less than four awards:

– Fnac Novel Prize 2011

– Prix Roman France Télévisions 2011

– Renaudot High School Student Award 201

– Elle Readers ' Award. 

This novel, often described as the favorite of its readers, is a poignant biographical account of his mother. The latter, having bipolar and depressive disorders, decided to end her life in 2008. De Vigan therefore decided to immortalize his mother's experience in this novel, which made him meet a success that she did not expect.

"Sometimes she had concluded that her dreams were so big, so excessive, that they didn't even get into her own head."                                              Nothing stands in the way of the night. 

Disappeared from the media radar after the promotion of Nothing opposes the night, everyone wonders when she will reappear, and with what could she return after such a good novel. In 2015, it's done with D'après une histoire vraie, which you can find the review here. This long-awaited novel offers readers what they have been waiting for: the reality they loved in Rien ne s'opposition à la nuit, with a part of fiction hidden between the lines. With this novel, which once again makes a lot of talk, she won the Prix Renaudot 2015 and Prix Goncourt des lycéens 2015. 

"… Some words, some looks do not heal. Despite the passage of time, despite the sweetness of other words and other looks." Based on a true story. 

Finally, in this 2018 literary season, De Vigan opens the year in style with a new book entitled Les Loyautés, published on January 3, 2018 by JC Lattès. Here is the summary interpreted by babelio.com: "The crossed destinies of four characters: Theo, child of divorced parents; Mathis, his friend, whom he trains on dangerous grounds; Hélène, a middle school teacher with an abused childhood, who worries about Theo; Cecile, Mathis' mother, who sees her family balance falter. An exploration of the loyalties that unite or chain them to each other." 

So, if you do not know De Vigan yet, the JustFocus team highly recommends this author who manipulates her pen with great precision, for our greatest pleasure. His books can have cathartic effects on the reader: they deal with the Human and his way of reacting to events, sometimes upsetting. The fluidity of the author's writing is very pleasant, and reminds us every moment we read it that Delphine De Vigan is a great writer. 

Sources:

1. http://abonnes.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2018/01/14/delphine-de-vigan-j-aime-cette-idee-que-mes-romans-soient-vraiment-le-reflet-d-une-epoque_5241479_3260.html
2. http://data.bnf.fr/fr/14600626/delphine_de_vigan/#other-pages-databnf
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voPpm8gXL5Y&t=2185s