Luis Sepúlveda, Chilean writer in resistance (Rediffusion)

Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda in the studio at RFI (October 2019). © RFI / Catherine Fruchon-Toussaint

By: Catherine Fruchon-Toussaint

In tribute to the Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda who died on April 16, 2020 from the aftermath of Covid-19, this program from November 2, 2019 is rebroadcast.  

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Luis Sepúlveda was born in 1949 in Chile. Imprisoned under the Pinochet regime, released, then exiled, he is a writer and author for young people.

The old man who read romance novels (1992), his first novel translated into French, enjoyed worldwide success, as did the Story of a seagull and the cat that taught him to fly (1996) - five million copies.

French cover of Luis Sepúlveda's new book. © Editions Métailié

"Off Patagonia, a white whale is responsible for protecting the dead Mapuche then, when the end of time comes, to guide all souls beyond the horizon. Everything is planned and written in the time of mythologies However, man lives in a world where everything is moving and, in the 19th century, whaling is developing. The white whale will have to defend its motionless world against these predators, in particular the whaler Essex of Captain Achab. wage a merciless war against the whalers and become a great myth of literature.

Luis Sepúlveda tells us this story from the point of view of the white whale, which explains to us how it lives and fits into the world order, what it discovers of men, its secret mission, then its war and the mysteries that 'it protects. Finally, it is the sea that speaks to us.

A beautiful and strong text, with an epic breath. From the great Sepúlveda.

The superb images of Joëlle Jolivet magnify this story. " (Presentation of Métailié editions)

(Replay of November 2, 2019)

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