Two award winnings from French Literature Institute – Prix Medicis and Prix Concourt

When the first warm breeze of Summer comes, it’s then time for relaxation. In the middle of this constantly changing world, we work unceasingly and the only days off we could have are public holidays. But for some who live closer to the nature, Summer is definitely a period to rest after harvesting and to prepare for another cultivation in the coming rainy season.

In the daytime during Summer when the Sun brightly shines with strong heat, without the duty in the farm, people would spend most of their time in leisure activities to compensate their all year long of hard efforts. At night in the cool breeze and the fresh air, the community would gather up for dancing and recreations.

In my childhood, Summer time meant school holiday. If your school holidays didn’t have to be filled Summer courses, I bet you remember how fun it was in summertime. No homework , no study for exams. It was the time when hours would be spent, at the beginning of the day, on creating what to play with other kids in the neighbor during the day, climbing the tree, catching the ladybirds and put them in a bottle, playing jackstones, skipping and double dutching, sliding down the canal over the moss, swimming, cycling around then coming home to write letters to distant friends or to help our mother fixing jell-o.  

For me, not a single summer day that I returned home with my clothes clean and no missing buttons or without bruises over my knees.

Le Testament FranCais, Andrei Makine, 1995
Translated to Thai by Jane Vejjajiva
Bangkok – Preaw Publishing, 2003

-------------------------------------------------

But when time passed, we all grew up. We finished primary school, secondary school, high school and then university. After graduation I spent all my time on the piles of works over my desk and summertime had become intolerable as it was too hot that I couldn’t concentrate on work or sometimes I couldn’t help but blame the thunderstorms that blocked the internet network and caused me inconvenience. Shame…

Well, I couldn’t be that moody for long. Since as soon as I got up from my desk to somewhere out, I still sensed the beauty nature had provided us in this hot and dry weather. There were plenty of trees leafing, flowers blooming purple, pink, yellow and so many other colours that blurred my sight. Wasn’t it just wonderful?

And this hot weather somehow recalled my memory of a book I have read.

“Le Testament FranCais” is a story of a boy who woke up in two paralleled worlds –Stalin Russia and mysterious French Atlantic island in which he captured the images from old photographs, pieces of pictures from newspapers and some memories from the bedtime stories told by his French grandma during his long vacation in Siberia. The terrific literature tied imagination and facts together. The writer surely succeeded in conveying his theme in fine and concise words. Words by John Burnside Scotsman (one of many criticisms by readers and critics)

Born in Russia and spent parts of his life in France, the writer was born of two nationalities and his novel written in French was so polished and well written that no one would believe it was written by someone who used French as his second language.

Andrei Makine was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, Russia in 1957. He worked as a teacher in the exchanging program in a refugee camp in France in 1987 and decided to live there. That was when he started writing his first novel entitled ‘The Hero’s Daughter’ which was later published in French in 1990. But none of the publishers believed that his works were not translated from Russian and condemned that he was not able to write them in French. Hence, Makine declared himself as a French novel writer and published two other works – “Once Upon The River Love” and “Le Testament FranCais” in French.

Makine was the first writer who was awarded two French highest awards in literature, Prix Goncourt and Prix Medicis, at the same time. Later, he finished more novels “The Crime of Olga Arbyeline”, “Requiem for The East” and “Music of a Life” and was awarded with Gran Prix RTL-Lire as well. In a literature field, his novels earned great feedback, they were later translated, published and well-known worldwide.

This book can still be found at some used book stores or you can look for the original version in French or English. Online order is also possible from both foreign publishers and Preaw Publishing for Thai version translated by Jane Vejjajiva. I wish the passed summertime would be your memorable moment for you all.