'Anomaly' Herve Le Tellier "What If I Face My Doppelganger?"

Author of 'Anomaly', Herve Le Tellier. Photo by Minumsa

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] “While writing my novel, I thought about fate. In life, there are many crossroads and moments when we ride the rapids. There are moments when we get a second chance, but in most cases, once time passes, we cannot go back and change things. So, what can we change in life? And what parts are non-negotiable? Through writing this novel, I realized that the modes of existence decided by my own will, the various values that make up who I am, and the beings I love can never be divided.”

The 2020 winner of the Prix Goncourt, considered one of the world's top three literary awards alongside the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Booker Prize, “Anomaly” has been translated and published domestically by Minumsa. French author Herv? Le Tellier (65), who visited Korea to attend the Seoul International Book Fair, shared these thoughts at a press conference held at Dalgaebi Restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul. He is a writer of novels, plays, and poetry, as well as a mathematician, journalist, and linguistics PhD.

The novel depicts various people who, with a three-month time difference, confront their own “doppelg?ngers” and through this encounter face the truth of life. The story involves a plane flying from Paris to New York encountering turbulence, and three months later, the same plane meets turbulence at the same point, making an emergency landing and encountering the “doppelg?nger” of themselves from three months prior.

Through the meeting with the doppelg?nger, the author speaks of “confronting oneself.” He explained, “I was curious about how different characters would react when facing their identical doppelg?nger, which led me to write this novel. Unlike a typical novel where one main character explores different situations and their inner sides, 'Anomaly' is about eight different characters reacting differently to the same situation.”

“Anomaly” surpassed the average sales of 400,000 copies typical of previous Prix Goncourt winners, selling 1.1 million copies in France alone. He said, “It wasn’t intentional, but I benefited from COVID-19,” adding, “My book became an escape and a breath of fresh air for the French people who were accumulating frustration due to the ongoing lockdown.” The announcement of the Prix Goncourt coincided with the lifting of the Paris lockdown, leading to increased bookstore visits and consumer activity.

Visiting Korea for the first time, he said, “I didn’t know much about Korea, but I watched many Korean films during the lockdown in France.” He named “Parasite,” “Squid Game,” and “Train to Busan” as his favorite works. Especially about the film “Train to Busan,” he said, “Rather than deeply focusing on zombies themselves, it profoundly addresses the social groups after the appearance of zombies and shows a perspective on the world, which makes it excellent.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.