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  • Today, “Combats” by Néhémy Pierre-Dahomay, published on March 4, 2021 by Éditions du Seuil.

Alain Raimbault, new contributor of group play

20 Minutes

Books, recommends

Battles

 of Néhémy Pierre Dahomay, published March 4, 2021 the threshold.


Her favorite quote:

“The gaguère is already filled, precisely, with his support having heard rumors that Timoleon had provoked Balthazar to a duel.

Some think it's sheer madness, others think it's not yet time.

Many try to believe it, but all are there to witness the secret design they have woven together for this bird without telling themselves: Biss has been trained for two years with the sole idea of ​​defeating one of the Bloodthirsty Roosters of Balthazar Possible.

"


Why this book?

  • Because I took pleasure in plunging into a world that was unknown to me,

    Haiti at the beginning of the 19th century, with its very sharp political tensions between power and the peasantry, and because I also discovered in the background the explosive political situation of the eastern part of the island, Santo Domingo.

  • Because the tensions that exist between the two half-brothers,

    Ludovic and Balthazar Possible, continue to grow throughout the novel that I could not let go from the first page.

    And because the character of Aïda, Ludovic's natural young girl, brings a poetic touch to this very beautiful novel.

    Precisely, the language is of a poetry, of a precision, of a tone so personal that this novel goes beyond its expected framework to become a tale, a parable.

  • Because I immediately thought of the great novelists

    like Patrick Chamoiseau, Édouard Glissant, Jacques Roumain and Jacques S. Alexis.

    It is at the same time a subtly committed novel, a poetic work and a tale in the pure lineage of Latin American authors adepts of marvelous realism.

    Nothing less.


The essentials in 2 minutes

The plot.

 Two half-brothers, Ludovic and Balthazar Possible, have hated each other since the dawn of time.

They will begin by engaging in a fight by interposed cocks, combat which will only aggravate the debates.

To what end will their rivalry lead the surrounding villages?

Characters.

 Ludovic and Balthazar Possible, the half-brothers.

Aïda, Ludovic's natural daughter.

Timoléon, Ludovic's ally.

Dorilien Gros-Ventre, storyteller of his profession.

Places.

 Haiti;

the plain of Cul-de-Sac.

The time.

 1842.

The author.

 Néhémy Pierre-Dahomey was born in Haiti in 1986. He published his first novel in 2017. He lives in Paris.

This book was read with

 delight!

Each page is pure pleasure.

And the end is terribly moving.

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  • Book sheet 20 Minutes