The Writers in the Photo

Photo by David Torrans

As always, a wonderful night at No Alibis. The #QUBLitFest event was very well attended and everybody seemed to have a great time. Plenty of smiles and good vibes. It was a pleasure to chat with Hélène Gestern, first for the benefit of an engaged audience, and then again over dinner at Molly's Yard after the event. Gestern is as intelligent, thought provoking and entertaining as her novel, The People in the Photo. Can't wait for the next Queen's French Literary Festival.

Many thanks to David Torrans of No Alibis for hosting the event and, as always, for his work in promoting the literary scene in Northern Ireland. And to Claudia, who helpfully pointed out that my own books wouldn't sell if I left them on their kitchen countertop in a cardboard box. Also, thank you to Dominique Jeannerod, Amelie Rougeot, Catriona Seth and all the fine people in the School of Modern Languages at QUB for their parts in organising the event, and to all the cool cats who showed up to make it such a fun night. Hat tips to Michael Nolan, Stephen Sexton, Laura Garland, Allen McKay and Andrew Pepper for adding some familiar faces to the crowd.

The People in the Photo by Hélène Gestern

The People in the Photo is Hélène Gestern's first novel to be published in English. Originally released in France under the title Eux sur la Photo, this is a book that has racked up over 20 literary awards. The English version that I read, published by Gallic Books, sports a quote from La Magazine Littéraire on the front cover; 'A wonderful book about the archaeology of memory'. and that pretty much nails the theme.

In a nutshell, the story starts out with Stéphane Crusten's response to an ad placed by Hélène Hivert who is seeking information about a picture of a woman and two men from a previous generation. It comes to pass that two of the people in the photo are Hélène's mother and Stéphane's father. The twist is that both Hélène and Stéphane's respective parents from the photo are dead, and that Hélène has never met her mother. And so, the mystery plot thickens... The pair continue their correspondence so that the novel becomes an epistolary (it's practically a dialogic or two-way epistolary, except for the introduction of three other POVs towards the end of the book) that builds to an emotional crescendo seamlessly.

This, obviously, is a book that's somewhat outside of the normal scope of this blog, but as a writer, I feel reading outside of your chosen genre can only strengthen your skills. Plus, I'm 'in conversation' with Hélène Gestern tomorrow night (Friday 2nd May at 6.30pm at No Alibis in Belfast), and figured this blog post would make for a nice warm-up.

So, the CSNI verdict? The People in the Photo is an engaging and thought-provoking read that worked incredibly well within the confines of the epistolary form. Gestern puts meat on the bones of the skeletons in her characters’ closets. A masterclass in imagery.

If you want to know more, and you're within travelling distance of Belfast, come to the event! Details can be found here.

No Alibis/QUB Event -- Hélène Gestern

Click image for full-size version.

I'm currently reading Eux sur la Photo (translated as The People in the Photo for those of us who are linguistically challenged), and so far it's great. Looking forward to the chat, though I hope Hélène Gestern's English is better than my French; or at the very least that my PhD supervisor, Dr Dominique Jeannerod, is willing to act as interpreter. I say this for effect, of course. Dominique will be there. Everything will be grand!

You can get a copy of this excellent epistolary at No Alibis right now. Why not grab one before the event?