In
Roman Riviere,
Humm depicts three young people descending the Seine in a canoe.
“A joyful odyssey,” said Christian Authier in
Le Figaro littéraire
on October 13.
“We must not rely totally on the title of Philibert Humm's first novel,
Roman Fleuve
, and expect one of these cobblestones which impress critics.
However, in the literal sense, there is no deception on the goods since the author - and narrator - tells the story of a descent of the Seine by canoe, from Paris to the sea”,
added Christian Authier.
And to underline:
“It is in the company of two friends, Samuel and François, that the young man undertakes the adventure during the summer of 2018. Those who have read
The Tour de la France by two children of today
and
La Micheline, tour of the bars of France,
co-written with Pierre Adrian, or
The Tribulations of a Frenchman in France
(Alexandre-Vialatte 2021 prize), written alone, will not be surprised by the motif of the novel.
Humm likes to wander through France the old-fashioned way, without GPS or other digital facilities, with his nose in the air and his eyes open.
After having acquired a second-hand canoe, which the seller assures us would have belonged to Véronique Sanson and which they will baptize Boat, the three companions set off on their journey.
With its shower curtain as a sail and its mast rod, the boat is not immune to insults and we sometimes come close to the drama like the raft of the Medusa, but our daily adventurers are holding the course .
During one of their first stops, they received encouragement from
Sylvain and Philippe Tesson , who had
come to supply them.
»
Christian Autier concludes:
“We will have understood that Philibert Humm prefers the spirit of childhood to the spirit of seriousness.
The fantasy, the humor, the taste for freedom spring from its pages which resuscitate the country of Charles Trenet and Jacques Tati.
The winner of the Prix Interallié succeeds another young author, Mathieu Palain.
He had before him
Le Mage du Kremlin
, by Giuliano da Empoli (Gallimard)
,
already winner of the Grand Prix du roman of the French Academy;
The Sweeter Life
, by Fabrice Gaignault (Grasset)
;
La Petite liar,
by Pascale Robert-Diard (L'Iconoclaste) and her boyfriend
,
Pierre Adrian, author of
What Those Who Are Far Away (Gallimard) Return.
The jury for the Interallié prize is made up of Gilles Martin-Chauffier, Stéphane Denis, Jacques Duquesne, Éric Neuhoff, Christophe Ono-dit-Biot, Jean-Marie Rouart, Jean-Christophe Rufin, Philippe Tesson, Florian Zeller and Mathieu Palain, the last winner.
