Paul Vecchiali
Fiercely independent, Paul Vecchiali (1930-2023) pursued both an intense film and literary career. This final volume, published under the auspices of Bleu-Turquin, bears witness to this.
The reader will undoubtedly be surprised, since nothing actually connects these two short works, published posthumously. A brief psychological novel, *The Divine Mystification* recounts, year by year, the adventures of a family from the South of France, spanning more than a century, from the first couple, Gérard and Marie-Claude, to their great-grandchildren in the present day. It is impossible to summarize the plot here, which is rich in twists and turns and where Paul Vecchiali's own obsessions intersect, or rather, the themes dear to him: blood ties, cinema, homosexuality, and current events. All of this is set on the Mediterranean coast, the region of his birth, where he was to shoot his last films, bringing to a close a rich and fulfilling life. Slightly detective-like (in its undercurrent, let's say), the story will delight seasoned Vecchiali fans, who will find here a familiar, singular universe, as if, consciously or not, the author had wanted to achieve a kind of synthesis… Can we even speak of synthesis, though? Vecchiali has tackled so many subjects, described so many social circles, filmed so many landscapes… Despite its “musical” title, Preludes and Fugues speaks less of Johann Sebastian Bach than of flashes, brief tableaux, fleeting memories: what Vecchiali calls snapshots. Rather enigmatic, the twenty-five prose pieces that make up the collection resemble visual eruptions, childhood images, a series of attempts to adhere as closely as possible to memory. It is, therefore, entirely a fragmentary autobiography, or, if you prefer, autobiographical fragments composed in an objective, if not objectivist, style, to stick as closely as possible to the truth. These Preludes and Fugues, perhaps perplexing, are certainly intriguing… Étienne Ruhaud Publication date: May 1, 2023 Order
