French novel

"French novel" is an autobiographical book. Its real story is based on the author’s life: for the use of cocaine in a public place, Frederick Befeder, by that time the already famous writer, was detained by police and was sent to prison. Once in a dirty cramped chamber, he comes into despair. And suddenly, having flown out of the depths of memory, the memories of childhood and youth arise in front of him, the gloomy walls seem to be parted and disappear for a while, and in their place, the paintings of the past appear one after another, episodes from the history of his family. The “French novel” caused a violent discussion in the press. The undoubted literary virtues of this work were awarded the prestigious Renodo Prize for 2009