Mohamed Mbougar Sarr hails a Peruvian 'monster novel' newly translated into French
The Goncourt-winning author calls Gustavo Faverón Patriau's Les Lieux souterrains "chaotic and strangely precise" — and, in one word, "fabuleux."
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, who won the Prix Goncourt in 2021 for La Plus Secrète Mémoire des hommes, has written in praise of Les Lieux souterrains, a novel by the Peruvian writer Gustavo Faverón Patriau, according to Bibliobs (Le Nouvel Obs). He describes the book as "chaotique et bizarrement précis" — chaotic and strangely precise — and sums up his verdict in a single word: "fabuleux."
Bibliobs separately presents the novel as one of the standout works of this year's rentrée littéraire, calling it "épique et magistral" and describing it as a monster of a book. According to the outlet, Faverón Patriau is a former journalist who was an opponent of President Alberto Fujimori in Peru. Les Lieux souterrains marks his first appearance in French translation, something Bibliobs notes was overdue: "il était temps."
No further details of plot, publisher or length were given in the source material.
Sources
This article was written from these reports.
