Les Marquises

Description

Because they lived wildly, in light and shadow, a novel was needed to tell the story of Jacques Brel (1929-1978) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) in the greatest detail possible. And to capture them, beyond time, in the setting of their final escape: the Marquesas Islands. A sumptuous and mysterious exile, between poetry and island illusions, chosen by these artists to help them transcend death and rediscover hope. In this novel, where everything is true, Marie Lebey plays with fiction with virtuosity. She imagines characters - a Belgian grandmother, an academic sensitive to the beauty of young vahines, a student in search of new horizons - and takes us on a long journey. Thus, in their brilliance and flaws, two hotheads are revealed, Paul and Jacques, who mocked priests while the quest for God haunted their work, two creators fascinated by women. Brel and Gauguin: tortured geniuses, unique and unforgettable.

Novelist Marie Lebey has published several books, notably with Léo Scheer: Oublier Modiano (2011), Mouche' (2012) and La Valeur des rêves (2023).