Luc-Michel Fouassier

Les pantoufles

The Slippers

September 3, 2020
Novel
150 pages
124 × 180 mm
13 €
9782379410260
978-2-3794-1026-0
																Luc-Michel Fouassier, Les pantoufles
																Luc-Michel Fouassier, Les pantoufles

The hero of this delightful novel reminds us of worthy predecessors such as Herman Melville’s famous Bartleby, Albert Cossery’s Philosophical Beggars or Franquin’s Gaston in espadrilles. He uses detachment as a formidable weapon against all forms of power.

“The great advances that have changed man’s destiny have often been the result of chance. This was the case with the discovery of fire, universal attraction, penicillin, tarte Tatin... In the same way, quite by chance, the narrator will discover the unsuspected power of his slippers. One morning, he finds himself on the landing of his apartment, door closed, without keys, wearing pure wool Charentaise shoes, size 42. Instead of trying to find a way to get home to look more presentable - that’s what he does which, no doubt, most of us would do - he prefers to take to the streets and get on with his day as if nothing had happened. And the discovery is going to be there, right from the first few yards. Far from making him uncomfortable, the fact that he’s wearing his Charentaises will give him immeasurable pleasure. What a foot, the soft fleece of wool under the severe gaze of his fellow creatures! No limits then for our hero! It will be the Charente offensive with colleagues, family, friends, the forces of law and order, the brotherhood of the eccentric. During a drift of several days, which will see him pass with the same quiet lightness from a brainstorming meeting to an epic tennis match, from the Louvre to a cocktail party, from a libertine club to a police station, from a timeless island to the Luxembourg Gardens, he will wage his battle against the tyranny of the “as it should be”. It won’t be easy, but Guignol will come at just the right time to bring the most beautiful conclusion to all”
—L.M.F.

The author

Born in May 1968, Luc-Michel Fouassier studied pharmacy at the Univerisité Paris XI before turning to teaching.
He is the author of two collections of short stories published by Quadrature: Histoires Jivaro and Les hommes à lunettes n’aiment pas se battre. Un si proche éloignement is his first novel.
Luc-Michel Fouassier created the Ozoir’elles prize (sponsored by Régine Deforges), whose jury rewards a collection of short stories already published. He also organizes the book fair in Ozoir-la-Ferrière.
Luc-Michel Fouassier currently lives in the Paris region.
He has published with Quadrature and Luce Wilquin, notably Le Zilien, prefaced by Jean-Philippe Toussaint.

Strong points

At a time when the last factories in the Charente are closing, they are entitled to their novel.

Satirical and sweet at the same time, a text that charms the toes.

September 3, 2020
Novel
150 pages
124 × 180 mm
13 €
9782379410260
978-2-3794-1026-0