Jean Echenoz: ‘The reader is the inventor of the books they read’

The popular French author, Jean Echenoz, gave an exclusive interview to Bookpress and Dionysis Marinos, on the occasion of the publication of his latest book Special Envoy (translated by Achilleas Kyriakidis). You can read it below:Mr Echenoz, it has already been 38 years since you first came to the fore. Have you changed since then? Are you now a different writer? Although nothing is constant, not much has changed in terms of my writing. However, a great deal has changed in my life. Writing is now not just a part of it, but an essential part, as it has become my profession.How do you write? In what way, or, if you like, with what approach? I seek to explore uncharted areas of writing. I’ve noticed that when I start writing a book, I always want to work against what I’ve written in the past.Could you do something else? Not write again, let’s say? I’m afraid not. I can’t do that. What appeals to you most, the subject matter or the style? You are one of the finest stylists, but plot is not absent from your books.I’m equally interested in both, and that’s because both the subject I want to write about and the way I’m going to write it are interdependent. You know, cinema taught me a lot about how to tell my stories. In the 70s and 80s I watched a great many films. How did the idea for your latest book come to you? North Korea, Kim Jong-un: it’s not easy for anyone to see such subjects as material for fiction.To tell you the truth, I don’t remember very well how the idea came to me. I think that initially I wanted to write a short crime story involving a kidnapping, with the perpetrators demanding a ransom to release the victim. It would have been a story set in Paris, but also in the French countryside. On the other hand, however, I also wanted to write a story in which various spies would play a leading role. So, in the end, I chose to set the story in a ‘dramatic’ region such as North Korea. The novel constantly plays with the reader. You give them the floor. Am I wrong? I wouldn’t say I give them the floor. No, that is not my intention. And I say this because I regard the reader as a receiver. They are an imaginary witness to what they are reading. On the other hand, they are also an inventor of every book. What is certain is that you do not want a passive reader. Your books, by their very nature, demand active reading. I firmly believe that the reader is never passive. On the contrary, they are an actor, a hero of the novel. Just like the heroes found within the text. And if they grow tired of the book they are reading, they are free to put it down, and then they become a catalytic actor. In *The Special Envoy*, you use all genres in a highly successful blend. Politics is intertwined with satire and espionage. I use whatever I need to develop my story. I usually say that a novel doesn’t start with one idea, but with two. That is, with two facts that may be unrelated to each other, but which can somehow come together. This is something that captivates me and compels me to discover it. Are you interested in what’s happening in the world? Do you read newspapers? I read newspapers every day and I’d say there are times when I find good ideas in them. There are, of course, other times when I can’t see anything that grabs me and sparks an idea. Would you write a book featuring Emmanuel Macron or Donald Trump as the main character? I don’t think I would do that at the moment. No, I wouldn’t want to write a book with those two as the protagonists. Do you consider yourself a ‘political’ writer? Honestly, I’m not sure. There are times when I say, yes, I am a political writer, and at others I clearly do not operate on a political level. Therefore, I cannot answer that question with certainty. Are you writing anything at the moment? I’m afraid I cannot answer that with certainty either.Do your awards mean anything to you? You’ve won quite a few. Receiving an award always stirs up strong emotions in me. It means that your work has had an impact on readers. Every time I receive an award, I’m as surprised as the first time, and that’s because every book is a new endeavour. Nothing can be taken for granted.