After killing his father, more of an accident but the facts blame him, Raphaël flees Bordeaux and his family. It is 1812, the empire is faltering in Spain, and Napoleon attacks Alexander I’s Russia. Raphaël finds himself with four other recruits in this venture, initially promising glory, an illusion, scorched earth, the Russians’ tactic.
With Moscow set ablaze, Napoleon decides on a retreat under the worst conditions. Lost soldiers, deserters, it’s unclear. Raphaël and his three companions—one perished in the Russian steppes—find themselves in Paris. A fine team of thieves. Again, an illusion. The gang will be caught, Raphaël manages to escape, Bordeaux his hometown, then the ship, he must flee, Napoleon has returned, these are the 100 days. Again, an illusion! The sea, rather the ocean, and the quest for America, will this be yet another illusion? Raphaël stands at the prow of the ship staring at the horizon.
Régis Descott pens his first novel here. A captivating story where his hero goes from Bordeaux to Moscow, from Moscow to Paris, and from Paris to Bordeaux living a continuous illusion, a waking dream. We are not far from the dreary plain of Waterloo. The Paris of the Palais Royal is reconstructed with its world where Vidocq, both a policeman and a former brigand, watches over, here too a world of illusion.
Thierry Jan
