In his novel The Making of Dogs (Belfond), the first volume in a trilogy, the novelist Agnès Michaux tells the story of Paris in 1889 through the eyes of a young journalist from Le Figaro . The year is not chosen at random. It is from it that the author weaves correspondences with our time. "The year 1889 saw debates that were also ours - the spelling reform, vegetarianism ... When the Academy of Medicine advised to eat 200 grams of meat a day, vegetarians denounced" necrophagia ". Like today, citizens are swimming in an ocean of contradictory recommendations. ”
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In addition, Agnès Michaux questions the place of man through that of dogs in a society obsessed with progress. “The great question illustrated by the novel through canine selection is that of progress and omnipotent science. The making of dogs - that is to say the way in which man is able to modify them at will - tells of the danger that awaits the idea of man. There too, the 19th century holds up a mirror to the 21st which dreams of an "increased" humanity, which hopes for a possible "production" of men. ”
The editorial staff proposed to the members of the Figaro Reading Club, its literary group on Facebook, to read the work and to make its criticism. What did they think of it?
A rich array of well documented real facts
For Corinne A., "the narration of Louis, a young journalist at Le Figaro , takes us into the Paris of the 1889s: worldliness, literature, science, politics, misery, prostitution ... This visual table, rich in very documented real facts, describes a world where everything moves, raising fervor and anxiety ... reminiscent of ours. And there is the analysis of the human-dog relationship with Mégot, corniaud, solid adopted by Louis, and Soyeuse, King-Charles, made by and for man, far too fragile! Eager to read what follows!"
A parallel with the future
Marie Reine Lamouroux advises “absolutely” reading it. "Historical novel? yes but not only! Hence the originality of the novel which takes place in 1889 and nourishes our gray cells. Louis, journalist at Le Figaro discovers Paris and its celebrities. He comes from his campaign. During an evening, he meets Suzanne, interviewed by a physiologist whose cursed name called out to me. The talented author draws a parallel with the future. There is a painful passage both for the animals, so much for a burning past that it makes reappear. A must read. "
End of the century atmosphere
G. Bialot is already awaiting the continuation of this first volume by Agnes Michaux. “ The Making of Dogs , an authentic learning novel, tells the tribulations of Louis Daumale, a young apprentice journalist at Le Figaro . In an atmosphere of "end of the century" where millennial and Faustian drifts confront each other, Louis Daumale rubs shoulders with the Grand Monde, has a knack with the Republic of Letters, knows sex and love with Suzanne, a half-worldly bitch at s 'breed and fall in love with a corniaud, exact antithesis of the salon dogs. Very pleasant to read. Hope hoped for. ”
To read and meditate
According to Nicolas Lalande, "this novel makes us discover a Paris end of the century, playing on the surprising encounters that the hero: eugenics and poets, prostitutes and great writers, occultists and ordinary people. I saw in the creation of new dog breeds a metaphor for humanity that will be lost in the 20th century. I was surprised, interested then convinced by the character's wandering and philosophical wanderings, the language of the writer playing a big role in this success. To read and meditate. "
Omnipresent science
For Gérald Tremblais, reading this novel was "fascinating". "Suzanne and Louis, Soyeuse and Mégot: the beautiful and the tramp!" Canine eugenics (according to the title) introduced humans fifty years before the arrival of the infamous Dr Mengele (a cousin of Mangelle?). The pretext for a painting of the life of a certain social class at the end of the 19th century. Omnipresent science. Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Women in the living room and men in boxing. The modernization of journalism with the arrival of the interview. Progress in printing… Exciting! ”
The making of men
According to Sébastien Perez, Agnès Michaux reserves a special place for the "faithful friend of man". “The manufacture of dogs or the manufacture of men wanders around a Paris at the end / beginning of the century. Object of experiments between scientism, worldly entertainment, conservatism, the canine becomes the look of an era when everything is to be hoped for or feared. In front of a parade of various personalities of the time, our young Louis with bitter irony, prefers the company of a stray dog facing an uncertain future. Remember, the dog is a man's faithful friend! Unfortunately for him… ”
A strong echo in the news
Nelly Thieriot retains a social fable. "With a chiseled tongue, an acute mastery of the use of synonyms and beautiful and cruel descriptions, the author draws a disturbing parallel between the fashion for ornamental dogs, necessarily perfect in the image of their mistresses, and the evolution of society at the dawn of the 20th century, foreshadowing the theories of eugenics and Nazism. In the form of a social fable, the themes tackled are sometimes cruel, always sensitive and find, in my opinion, a strong response to current events.
Chronicle of a death foretold between ancient and modern
Cécile Avisse finally notes an era full of contradictions. "1889 Universal Exhibition: chronicle of a death predicted between ancient and modern. The extraordinary of the day is the ordinary of the next day; scientific bulimia that ends with an indigestion of moral values. Fear of human degeneration, the end justifies the means, brain dissections, monstrous experiences attempted on bastards of the streets. The human becomes inhuman in the name of progress. It is the law of humanity, a reflection of our present time, an eternal beginning. ”
The making of dogs, by Agnès Michaux, Belfond, 368 pages, € 20.
