Dominique Bona. “Family Ties Are Windows on the Complexity of Individuals”

“A biography differs from a novel because everything in it is true. But he strives for the same goal: he tells a story. So says Dominique Bona, author of fascinating works on Romain Garry, Stefan Zweig, Bert Morisot, Camille and Paul Claudel, Colette, Jacqueline de Ribes and today Joseph Kessel and Maurice Drouin; Supportersthe writer and academic, in turn, is an investigator, historian and novelist to study the fates of the authors of the book. The party’s song.

In the video, Super-8 years By Annie Erno and David Erno, excerpt

Madame Figaro . – What made you connect with the fates of Joseph Kessel and Maurice Druon?
Dominique Bona. – Family ties attract me. They are windows into the complexity of individuals, often shedding light on their struggles, weaknesses, and choices. In previous books, I have explored the relationship between mother and daughter, brother and sister, or multiple sisters. The special bond that binds Kessel to Droon is almost filial. Although the uncle and nephew are very different in character, they share many traits, including a passion for writing. And their constant love will never be broken. Another character also appears. It follows from the first chapter on their secret departure to Free France in December 1942. She is so brave and amazing that I kept her throughout the story. It prevents the duo from freezing face to face. And she brings her share of femininity to the adventure.

We will never know whose crows they are or who found them.

Dominique Bona

Why creation? The song of the partisans did that interest you?
the writing of Supporters’ song is a pivotal moment in the lives of my characters. I made it a point to recount in detail the circumstances that led to this. It’s a French song set to Russian music. And collective work. This call to arms stars two feisty, bloody women: Anna Marley, who composed the music, and Germaine Sablon, the first performer. And Kessel and Druon wrote the lyrics with four hands, without the possibility of releasing each part. We will never know whose crows they are or who found them.

How would you explain your taste in biography?
Real life is as romantic as imaginary life. It even happens that reality surpasses fiction. I like the mirror that these flesh and blood lives hold up to us. I like to describe the balance of power between the characters and the world around them – the society they live in, the way of thinking, the mores of the time. Like Kessel, Drouin had to face difficulties due to circumstances, both in his personal life and in his career as a successful writer.

Can we say that writing about others also speaks about you?
I guess you can read me as a watermark in my bios. Or at least openly read the feelings that live on me – my dreams and passions. This is the challenge of biography: to stay as close as possible to the truth as it emerges from sources and investigation, but to radiate it passionately.