“Three Paintings,” by Jean Rouaud: funny and wildly erudite!
Review Visions, allusions, a few Russian writers but also Bob Dylan. The writer, winner of the 1990 Prix Goncourt, offers a reflection, around three paintings, on cinema, literature, memories… ★★★★☆
By Didier Jacob
Jean Rouaud. FRANCESCA MANTOVANI/GALLIMARD
Jean Rouaud has been a novelist for a long time. He's also a poet. He's a screenwriter in his spare time, and we're not going to put that on his job as a newsstand vendor. In "Trois tableaux," the artist's palette is enriched with new colors. First part: he sets off to discover the painter Jef Rosman, who left a painting (his only known one) representing Rimbaud. It's funny, wildly erudite (because, on Rimbaud, Rouaud is an expert). A second part follows with yet another painting, a rural scene. And, this time, it's a poem that the image evokes. It takes you to Campbon, Loire-Inférieure (that's where Jean was born).
Visions, allusions, a few Russian writers, but also Bob Dylan, that's what it's all about. In the third section, Rouaud tries his hand at film criticism. Our 1990 Prix Goncourt winner analyzes a film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, "Le mal n'existe pas." And, one thing leading to another, Rouau...
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