“With Marius Degardin, springs from light where others have seen only silence”

Didier Devillaz will be our guide for this new program, around Mandragoressigned Marius Degardin:

From the first pages, the decor arises. However, A siblings abandoned by adults lives in an old restaurant called Amore e Gusto. Therefore, The place breathes life, despite the abandonment. Moreover, Four children with opposing characters coexist there, each carrying a secret injury. However, Primo, the elder holds the bar. Consequently, Pierrot, soft and a little lost, size of stones. Similarly, Kara, a silent midwife, watches over hers. Nevertheless, And Benito, the youngest, just major, becomes the beating heart of the story. For example, The announcement of their mother’s return breaks the fragile balance. Consequently, Something rocks.

This novel could scare. However, He tackles dark subjects. In addition, Incest. Furthermore, Madness. In addition, Psychiatric “with marius degardin, springs light confinement. However, according to Devillaz, writing transforms this incandescent matter. « There is an impressive writing maturity for a first novel. Marius Degardin manages to balance the romantic, the poetics and the vintage, without ever falling into the demonstrative ». An embodied, carnal style, which gives flesh to suffering without ever wallowing.

Avant -critical – The Mandragores: intimate fractures and injured memory

Benito crosses darkness, flirts with death. But his trajectory is not damaged in despair. « I found it a lot of light there. In poetry, of course, but especially in vital impulse “Insists the bookseller. The novel sounds like a quest for resilience. Each meeting – with Moses. the manager of a brothel in Montmartrois, with Iris or Barbara – opens a window, brings a little air, tenderness, hope.

The novel sails between several genres: family chronicle, social novel, initiatory story, almost black novel. A hybrid that confuses, “with marius degardin, springs light but fascinates. “”It is difficult to classify, it is also what makes it precious »confides Devillaz. “”Me, he made me think ofLOVE LOVEMfrom Dimitri Rouchon-Borie. But where the latter is completely mineralized, Marius Degardin breathes a light that I did not find there. »

The title, enigmatic, intrigue. The mandrake, a magic and toxic plant, becomes a metaphor. « I discovered that we said that it took a hungry dog to tear it away. Otherwise, we died“Says the bookseller. “”It’s a flower, yes, but a dangerous flower. She embodies this obscure and mystical part that the novel explores. A disturbing beauty, a double -edged force force. »

And yet, despite the darkness, the novel ends with a solar note. « At the end, you come out moved, but appeased. This kind of novel is rare. We feel that we went through something unique, strong, and that we grew up with him. »

In bookstores, The Mandragores “with marius degardin, springs light does not propose to anyone. Devillaz the reserve to readers « Curious, open, ready to be jostled. People looking for real stories, just touching, even if they disturb». Not a novel to offer a teenager in search of lightness. Not a consensual text. A book for those “who want to be surprised. stirred, and who are not afraid to see beauty spring in the shadows ».

A first novel. An unknown author. A delicate subject. But above all a breath. “”Marius Degardin managed to bring out light where others have seen only silence. It transforms the unspeakable into rebirth». A demanding reading, yes. But of those who leave a lasting trace. Like a mandrake torn from the earth. Provided you know how to tame it.

Find the selection of the first six novels of the Prize sent by La Poste 2025.

Photo credits: Perthuis bookstore

File – Edition 2025 of the price sent by post: first six novels of the start of the school year

By Nicolas Gary
Contact : [email protected]