The Franco-Greek writer Vassilis Alexakis died Monday at the age of 77, his editor announced, the Greek government hailing "
a great creator
".
"
It is with sorrow that the Metaixmio publishing group bids farewell to its dear friend and great writer Vassilis Alexakis, who died today at the age of 77
," said this Greek editor.
The circumstances of this death have not been specified.
Greek media reported that it took place in Athens.
Vassilis Alexakis had, among other things, been crowned with the Medici Prize in 1995 for
The Mother Tongue
, at the same time as another author who became French-speaking, the Franco-Russian Andréï Makine, for
Le Testament français
.
Read also: Vassilis Alexakis, Casanova Prize
“
We will forever remember his original humor, generosity and kindness, and will preserve as a precious legacy his brilliant literary work, which will remain timeless like his eternally young spirit
,” added Metaixmio.
According to the Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, quoted in a press release from her ministry, literature "
has lost a great creator, an independent voice, loved and special
", and "
a writer who has won the esteem of its colleagues and the love of readers in the two countries between which he shared his life, Greece and France
”.
Born in Athens on December 25, 1943, Vassilis Alexakis arrived in France at the age of 17 on a scholarship.
After studying at the ESJ Lille, he had become a journalist, the
World,
at
La Croix
and France Culture.
He is the author of some twenty novels, the first of which,
Le Sandwich
, appeared in 1974, and one of the last,
AD
, was Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française in 2007.
Close to the left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, he was symbolically on the list of the radical left coalition Syriza in the European and municipal elections in the 2000s. He was also a cartoonist and filmmaker, director in Greece of comedies such as
The Athenians
, Grand Prize at the Chamrousse Comedy Film Festival in 1991.
