Chienne de vie

This story is a dizzying and poetic plunge into the soul of a man, husband, father and aesthete. We follow the intimate life of a celebrated luthier, meandering with him through the labyrinths of his melancholy; we take stock of his inventory, his need to lay bare which he explores in a liberating ramble along the ocean. Something indescribable occurs, leading to a captivating intrigue that is illuminated in the final pages of the book, and that involves—and tests—the origins, family, political roots and artistic identity of a conscience that is prey to nothingness. “In this beautiful voyage, Denis Lafay forays into a fundamental issue: our existence in the souls of others. How do we live there, could we live without them, and at what price do we live with them?” asks Boris Cyrulnik. This is a novel made of sound and silences that impacts us because it questions our souls.

Denis Lafay is a journalist, editorialist, and collection director for the publishing house l’Aube. He has published around thirty essays and monographs on painters.

“One is swept away by this beautiful novel”

Edgar Morin

“This novel is very beautiful, strong, and captivating. And what a sensational twist at the end”

Karol Beffa 

“This beautiful story shows how the world takes refuge within us and leaves us empty. A liberating fiction, as all true novels ought to be”

François Dubet

“What a beautiful text! Powerful, subtle, contemporary and atemporal, singular and universal, and magnificently written”

Roger-Pol Droit