Writer Michel Deon dies at 97
Death of the writer and academician Michel Déon
By Dove Montety Update On 28/12/2016 at 17:46 Published On 28/12/2016 at 17:22
DISAPPEARANCE - One of the deans of the French Academy died Wednesday December 28 at the age of 97. Great traveler, the author of more than 50 books will remain in the memories as a nonconformist. Unforgettable novels we owe him as Purple Taxi and the wild ponies.
Died Wednesday, December 28 at the age of 97, Michel Déon, born in Paris on August 4, 1919, grew up between the capital and the Côte d'Azur, where his father advised the Prince de Monaco. While he studied law, an author upsets: Charles Maurras . Mobilized in 1939, he then moved to Lyon in 1942 and became editorial secretary at the French Action alongside political essayist. He stays upright in his boots: "When I am asked who I am voting for, I reply that I have been a monarchist since my youth and that I will not change it."
After the liberation of France, Déon travels: Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal. In 1947 appears his first composition Goodbye Sheila (Robert Laffont), which in 1990 will become a memory . His friend Antoine Blondin , with whom he shared his political affiliation in the literary movement of the Hussars, said that he wrote "for the chicks." His world is secret, funny, delicate, and his psychological analysis of feelings marks the readers. During his travels, he discovers a Greek island, Spetsai, which will become his privileged refuge. According to him, "islomania" allows immobility and therefore inner peace. Two novels refer to: The Balcony of Spetses and the appointment of Patmos .
Now comes the time for rewards. In 1970, Wild Ponies (Gallimard) receives the Allied prices, while the book touches on all the burning issues of the time: World War, Algeria, 6 days of the War. Purple Taxi (1973) receives the Grand Prize novel by the French Academy; and The Green Man Young was released in 1975. In 1951 he is a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation and went to the United States, but does not forget his passion for writing ( The People of the night in 1958 by Plon).
In 1978, Déon was elected to the French Academy at the same time as Edgar Faure. But he does not leave his political aspirations aside and keeps "a certain right-wing anarchism, a pessimism that aims at lucidity". "I, who have so long cultivated my differences, will at last try to cultivate my resemblances with people who are sometimes opposed to me," he said of his election.
Michel Deon also key to the theater with my life is no longer a novel in 1989, Ariane or oblivion in 1992, as well as radio plays, or a comic opera, Furia Italiana . It chaperone of young talent ( Emmanuel Carrère , Jean Rolin, Britna Svit) while living in Ireland with his family.
But Déon is not only a nostalgic writer, capturing the beauty of the human soul and nature, he also knows how to take a position on the political level. In 1967 he published Mégalonose (The Round Table), in which he takes a stand against the France of General de Gaulle. The book did not live long, seized by the police.
In 1993 he engages through an interview with his daughter Alice, Director of Editions La Table Ronde ( Let's Talk ... Gallimard). And continues to publish: The big leagues in 1996, Madame Rose in 1998, French Pages in 1999, until 2013 ( In light ). Blondin said it was "the smartest person I've met in my life." "If I have written books, it may be to answer the need to live the stories that others have not always been able to tell me," confessed Déon.
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