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Today, "Les Eaux du Temps" by Thomas Weill published on July 12, 2022 by Éditions Crin de Chimère.
Edwige, contributor to the reading group 20 Minutes Books, recommends
Les Eaux du Temps
by Thomas Weill, former journalist for
20 Minutes
, published on July 12, 2022 by Éditions Crin de Chimère.
His favorite quote:
"You are under arrest," resumed the first.
“Ah, but you are wrong, my friend.
I'm drunk!
What am I saying, drunk… No, in a state of grace!
The State does not prohibit the state of intoxication, it is only a state of fact!
In the current state of things, your coming without qualms places me in a state of siege, and you see me in a bad state.
I would even say almost in the liquid state!
Next time, just make an inventory, go back to your staff and leave me as is, at least until I find myself in working order.
Why this book?
Because the cover of the novel is splendid
and you should never forget the importance that a cover can have.
Even before having opened the novel, the storm is already raging and it is obvious that the trip will be hectic!
Because diving in this universe, essentially marine,
is particularly refreshing.
The sea wind blows in our ears.
The sea spray fills our noses with salty and pungent aromas.
Storms freeze us.
The sun warms us.
We are totally immersed in an ocean of discovery and adventure.
Because the events follow
one another in a totally fluid way and lead us into adventures that are more and more improbable, more and more interesting, more and more captivating.
There's a real build-up to the narrative which, while engaging from the start, steadily progresses and makes it hard to put the book down without finishing it.
Because the universe is both very familiar
and totally innovative.
It takes into account topical issues in our world, integrates them, amplifies them to the point of making them particularly uncomfortable, even unlivable.
He then confronts them with a past that might seem idyllic, but raises other questions, just as interesting and problematic.
Because the author has achieved the real tour de force
of appropriating a myth known to all, redefining it from A to Z and giving it a hitherto unknown flavor.
For those who read a lot of imaginary literature, there is a certain pleasure in remaining in the comfort of texts that are similar or take up recipes already seen.
What makes the difference, what marks, is when the author manages to make these similarities completely new.
This is what Thomas Weill has done brilliantly in this novel.
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
Eight years after the death of her beloved brother, Tara discovers letters he wrote to her from a time that seems to date back several hundred years.
Convinced that it is indeed him and that he has mysteriously succeeded in traveling to the past, she decides to join him there to help him come back.
Characters.
The bond between Tara and Aydan (her brother) is beautifully highlighted and creates a soft and warm intimacy, the basis of the whole adventure.
However, the colorful character who brings humor and casualness to the story is Alessio, the captain who embarks Tara towards troubled waters.
Places.
An unknown archipelago and therefore, above all, the sea... It is at the heart of all the twists, but also of all the resolutions of this story.
The time.
A very dark and rainy present, a very colorful and sunny past.
The contrasts are striking, but each of the two eras explored faces great challenges.
The author.
Journalist, Thomas Weill has been passionate about writing since childhood.
It was at the age of 10 that his literary career could have started, but his novel then remained unfinished.
However, the love of words remains and, “a few” years later, his first novel appears:
Les Eaux du temps
.
This book was read with
the intense pleasure of discovering a rich and very original universe;
a child's wonder discovering a magical tale as familiar as it is completely new.
And finished with the desire to discover following Thomas Weill, starting with
Histoires comme ça
, his short story newsletter.
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