Stéphane Audeguy’s new novel strolls through a century of Japanese history. A kaleidoscope of intersecting women’s destinies, in a Japan torn between tradition and modernity.
A young American bride who arrives in Japan in 1902 for her honeymoon and returns there 44 years later just after the atomic bombings. A French teacher who accompanies her companion, a contemporary art specialist, to Japan. Or a serial killer who steals and kills during the 1964 Olympics. Not to mention an old Jewish luthier, a little girl and her red dog, a firefly, a lark and a vixen.
All these strange characters – plus a few more or less well-known historical personalities – are brought together in Stéphane Audeguy’s new novel, which continues to combine encyclopedic erudition and romantic verve.
This time he tells us the story of a country, Japan, from the beginning of the Meiji era at the end of the 20th century until today, from the modernization of Japan to the reign of art. contemporary on the small island of Naoshima, obviously going through the Second World War and the damage of atomic bombs.
“Dejima” by Stephane Audeguy is published by Editions du Seuil.
Reporting : In Abu Dhabi, on the island of Saadiyat, a community center contributes to local artistic creation. The “Manarat Al Saadiyat” is also currently hosting a photographic exhibition in which 12 emerging artists, all from the Gulf region, explore their identity. Report by our correspondent in the United Arab Emirates, Nicolas Keraudren.