This novel that Jean-Baptiste Andrea takes on vacation: “I knew I was dealing with a great book”
data-modal-image-caption=The writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea. data-modal-image-credit=Celine NIESZAWER/Leextra data-modal-url-article=https://madame.lefigaro.fr/celebrites/culture/ce-livre-que-jean-baptiste-andrea-emporte-en-vacances-j-ai-su-que-j-avais-affaire-a-un-grand-livre-20250712 data-modal-image-url=https://i.f1g.fr/media/cms/orig/2025/07/09/d4a28ac4e925622aec47e135f4372430f5ae24ff000b2ec6be06a5cff4549572.png>
SUMMER BOOK 1/9. - In my suitcase, I put a talisman novel, a favorite author, a full load of emotions... Nine personalities tell their stories between the lines by revealing which book they take on vacation. Today, the writer tells us about the book Dangerous Pity , by Stefan Zweig.
Skip the ad Skip the ad“As a writer , I asked myself how I knew I was dealing with a great book. Before the style, the form, the novelty, there is a story that is not just a series of twists and turns, but that rings true. This is my argument when I argue with people who only read biographies and essays because you “learn”: in a novel, you “learn” too, but differently. Zweig describes a one-sided love, a hero consumed by his anxieties, the way in which anxiety can lead to the creation of a whole story. Starting from a tiny misunderstanding—a man invites a young girl to dance who turns out to be paralyzed—he pulls the thread to build a page-turner whose beauty stays with you long after you close it.”
Jean-Baptiste Andrea received the 2023 Goncourt Prize for his fourth novel, Veiller sur elle , available in the Proche Collection.
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