"8 writers chat with 8 sailors from the Vendée Globe". This is the lighthouse that underlines the title of this work. It's a test run. An attempt to allow an exchange between talented writers and skippers before their departure from the Vendée Globe. Before these sailors set sail from Brittany to New York, the editor asked everyone to ask themselves some questions about their"why in me".
This rallying transatlantic race, without pressure of result and carried out in crew, was to allow them to write. While everyone was present, aware of the chance to share moments at sea with more distance than a simple vacation, the result was rather uneven. No white paper, but very varied sea stories depending on the conditions and technical problems encountered. This ranges from"I didn't write anything" by Jérémie Beyou to Fabrice Amedeo's long maritime reflections.
On the feather side, we find the great authors of Gallimar Editions, who are sometimes very far removed from the concerns of the skippers. So we cross a Niger river with Philippe Bordas or we learn that Eric Fottorino will never be a sailor because he gets seasick on the ferry that connected the Ile de Ré to the mainland before the bridge was built.
Decorated with photos of the 8 sailboats of our sailors, this book is read in a disjointed way. The reader gets lost a little among these 16 feathers passing from the reality of the transatlantic race to the deliriums of the writers. The literary experience is interesting. The reproach is that the link created between the sailor and the writer is not put forward. Why reunite them in couples through this book if not to make them exchange?
| Writer | Skipper |
| Eric Fottorino | Tanguy de Lamotte |
| Olivier Frébourg | Morgan Lagavière |
| François Garde | Yann Eliès |
| Pierre Béju | Bertrand de Broc |
| Philippe Bordas | Alan Roura |
| Sylvain Tesson | Fabrice Amedeo |
| Christophe Ono-dit-Bio | Kito de Pavant |
| Heydi Kaddour | Jérémie Beyou |
- Gallimard Publishing
- 15.5 x 22.5 cm
- 120 pages
- 19,90 €
