Here we are in the deep countryside, in a timeless, secret world, where initiation will turn a man into a master craftsman. We are in a brotherhood, a masonry whose practices and rules are strictly regulated. On the banks of the Siagne in the Grasse country, we find Fernand who succeeded his father as a distiller.
This is closely monitored by the authorities, the alcohol must be declared. Customs officers and policemen assist the inspectors. Fernand complies with the laws, he has his notebook where he notes everything. Cheaters are caught or reported, there is jealousy, old rivalries, not to say hatreds. It is in this rough and merciless world that Jean Siccardi draws us in with his talent as a storyteller and novelist.
He knows this Grasse country well where he lives. He has grasped its soul and essence, and once again, he lets us share the intimacy of these peasants for whom the land is the source of life, their reason for living, and their means of subsistence. Somehow, this makes their character tough, dry, and bitter.
A world entirely different from that of city dwellers. One must be born or live there to truly understand and grasp it. A santon maker answered this question: how does one become a santon maker? You don’t become one, you are born a santon maker. You don’t become a peasant, you are born a distiller!
Thierry Jan, writer
