He had been a huge success in 2019 by winning the "Elle" readers 'prize and the booksellers' prize for his very dark novel,
Born of no woman
.
The Corrézien Franck Bouysse has since left the Éditions de la Manufacture for a heavyweight in publishing: Albin Michel.
It will be said that it was a rich idea.
Sold in a few weeks at 85,000 copies,
Buveurs de vent
, his new book, found itself on the list of the Interallié price and the Giono price.
Accustomed to dark stories, Bouysse tells the story of a small town at the bottom of a lost valley where a tyrannical man rages, owner of the power station and almost all the shops.
A merciless man, surrounded by minions, each more disturbing than the next.
A southern writer
Three brothers and a sister will challenge the almighty man by taking a lot of risks.
In this battle for survival, they will find unexpected allies.
This French novel could have been written by one of those southern American writers whose terrifying stories we love to devour: Ron Rash, Donald Ray Pollock, William Gay and their master, Cormac McCarthy.
With this ambitious, dark story, and a rare storytelling talent, Franck Bouysse seduced the jurors of the Giono Prize, led by Paule Constant.
Chosen in the first ballot in front of Maël Renouard, the novelist will receive a check for 10,000 euros.