“Hi to you, oh my brother” by Marin Ledun comes out today. Interview with its author, present this saturday 12 May 2018 at the polar show in Fargues Saint Hilaire.
Marin Ledun, is the author of about fifteen novels, dontWith a red iron, (on the fight against terrorism in the northern Basque Country in 2004) : Grand Prix selection of detective literature 2015 and Polar Readers Prize for Elle 2016; The man who saw the man, (on disappearances in the northern Basque Country, during the fight against terrorism, in 2009) : Prix Amila-Meckert 2014; In the womb, The Crushed Faces, adapted under the title ofCarole matthieu, in 2016 for Arte, by director Louis-Julien Petit, with Isabelle Adjani(an occupational doctor in a call center discusses the stress in the organization of work, Valence, 2008-2009) : Trophy 813 french novel 2011, Grand Prix of the black novel 2012 of the Beaune International Police Film Festival, 2012 Villeneuve-lès-Avignon Polar Festival Readers' Prize; The War of Vanities : 2011 Mystery of Critics Award; On the sly, Black Shadows editions, : Transfuge Award for Best Polar 2016 and his last, a sparkling and rhythmic police comedycoming out today 3 May 2018: “Hi to you, oh my brother”.
Marin Ledun's novel released on 3 May 2018
Marin Ledun,, author Photo: Valérie Doulevant
- Marin Ledun, can you briefly introduce yourself, your way?
Ardèche from birth and childhood, I am the oldest in a family of six children. I live in the Landes, somewhere in the middle of a pine forest, with mine, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and I'm happy.
- How did you get into the writing pot and more specifically that of the thriller?
By chance. First by reading, then, around the age of thirty, by writing a few lines which became my first novel and which I was told was a black novel (which is different from a thriller). Since, I didn’t stop and twelve years later, writing has become my job.
- Where do your ideas come from and how do you build your novels?
Of life. People. From my readings. From my curiosity. Questions I ask myself and to which I have no answer. From there, I read, a lot, j’observe, I listen, I work on the development of a story, characters to embody it, and a style, from an angle of view to stage them. It takes me several months, even several years.
- How much do everyday life and your personal life inspire you?
Daily life, insofar as I write a black novel, that is to say realistic novels that speak of the world in which we live. My characters therefore evolve in a world, a daily life that we all know. As for my personal life, it absolutely does not appear, or by microscopic touches that only those who know me perceive. Except maybe my last novel, Hi to you oh my brother, which depicts an ideal family that has a lot in common with my own family.
- How do your studies in economics and information and communication sciences affect the writing of your novels?
No doubt in my concern for the accuracy of social relationships, links that unite individuals. This is probably why I write a social black novel and not a thriller.
- Why are you very interested in the Basque country and locate your stories in the south-west?
In reality, half of my novels are in my region of origin, Rhône-Alpes, Ardèche and Isère, including my last, Hi to you oh my brother, and half in my adopted region, the Landes and the Basque Country. Which is a way of saying that my stories are rooted in places I know very well. Because I know people. Because I am one of them. Because everything is linked, culture, people, groups, territory, geography, etc.
- How do you write (hourly, equipment, lieu, constraints, needs, “quirks”, ambiance…)?
Nothing really original in my way of doing things : sitting in front of my computer, home, among the people I love, and the day. Stress point, of need, fads, etc. In my element.
- What are the significant events and meetings in your life that have played a role in your literary career?
All ! Necessarily. Some randomly drawn from the hat : my resignation from France Telecom in 2007, meeting with the one who has shared my life for over twenty years, the discovery of ErskineCaldwell and Jules Verne when I was 12 / 13 years, GB84 by David Peace when I was thirty, the hundreds of wonderful people I have met over the years in “polar” salons, volunteers, passionate, editors, correctors, authors, specialists, laymen, students, inmates, librarians, booksellers, etc., who made me realize how precious the book is, subversive and essential to our lives and which inspire me to continue writing.
- Are you a “committed novelist”? Do you want to ask the reader about our company?
Non. I am a committed individual, but my novels don't talk about my private engagements. My stories show people. They are political in the sense that they deal with what is not working in our societies or what is problematic. They ask the questions I ask myself. My approach is underway : to write, when you're not doing pure entertainment, it's political and subversive, but my novels are just stories of men and women, from you and from me, from U.S.
- What do you like in the various frequented book fairs? In that of Fargues in particular?
As I said above, it’s the investment of the people who organize these shows, and Fargue is a great example, the faith that drives them in that culture is something important, of subversive, rich, to be shared, that binds people together. It's not just a few stories to shiver, mild or violent, but an important part of our lives.
- How do you feel when you meet your readers?
A lot of shyness.
- What are your projects?
Live and write as long as possible. And leave to live in the Marquesas as soon as I can.
Interview conducted by Valérie Doulevant
