Paris (AFP)
The Interallié prize was awarded Thursday to Irène Frain for "Un crime sans importance" (Seuil), a story in which the 70-year-old author recounts the consequences of the murder of her older sister.
Irène Frain obtained six votes, against three for "What Pleased in Blanche" by Jean-Paul Enthoven (Grasset) and two for "La Grâce" by Thibault de Montaigu.
"A crime of no importance" relates how the novelist will try to shake up the investigation into the death of this sister, killed in her pavilion in the Paris suburbs in 2018, which advances only with extreme slowness.
The winner is used to success in bookstores, with a loyal following, but less Parisian literary prizes.
"The joy is a feeling that had deserted me for two years. And the joy of this prize is to find this feeling again", she told the press during the presentation of the award, in front of a restaurant (closed) in Paris.
"This book, it was not written for literary prizes. It was my editors (...) who decided, and I admit that it frightened me", she added.
“Maybe we didn't really see who I was, that there was a misunderstanding. But that's okay, life is made up of misunderstandings: the important thing is to live”.
Another literary prize awarded Thursday, the Nicolas-Bouvier Etonnants Voyageurs prize, which rewards an escape book, went to the Bulgarian Kapka Kassabova for "Lisière" (Marchialy), a story on the borders of Europe, on the border of his country with Greece and Turkey.
© 2020 AFP