In Memory of Michel Déon
We were very sorry to hear that Michel Déon (1919-2016), French author and "immortal" writer since he joined the ranks of the Académie Française in 1979, passed away in Galway on the 28th of December at the age of 97.
The New York Times painted his portrait as a novelist who "offered a witty, panoramic view of French society and history". His obituary in the Irish Times paid tribute to "the French writer most closely associated with Ireland", in which he had been residing with his family since 1968. While he regularly set his novels in his country of adoption (mostly notably The Wild Ponies and The Purple Taxi), he used to say that the French language worked for him as an "umbilical cord" tying him to France. Not only was he considered to be one of the most inventive French novelists of the 20th century, he was also a great traveller, a talent-spotter and a champion of French literature abroad.
He is published in the UK by Gallic Books, and translated by Julian Evans. His most recently published title is The Great and the Good (original title: La Cour des grands), published on 10th of January 2017, and there are two more forthcoming publications, La Chambre de ton père (Gallic Books, 2017) and another title to be announced by Dalkey Archive Press (2017.) You can look up a conversation between M. Déon and his translator Julian Evans, which whom he had a close relationship, here, and a brief extract of an interview (in French) here, where we hear Michel Déon playfully advising aspiring writers to read bad books, and comparing the writing of a story to the making of a child... or rather, the raising of a child - which takes a little more time!: