So, the young author from Quebec Kevin Lambert is in the running for the Goncourt Prizethe most prestigious literary prize in the French-speaking world, the highest consecration in the world of books in French.
Well done! It is impressive!
But given that Lambert had called Prime Minister Legault, who had praised his book, pathetic, will he send the Prime Minister away if he ever wins and Mr Legault congratulates him?
May our money stay
“Let Our Joy Remain,” Kevin Lambert’s third novel, appears in the first selection of the prestigious Goncourt Prize.
It just shows that the French Goncourt judges have the same taste as François Legault! He had written on his social media: “Long, breathless sentences. A 30-year-old author with a lot of talent.
You will remember that Kevin Lambert had very harsh words towards Legault: “Presenting my book is pathetic,” he said to our bibliophile prime minister.
If you call your head of government “pathetic” when he tells you he thinks you’re good, what do you call him when he tells you he’s proud of you and that Quebec is proud of you?
The Goncourt Prize is a goldmine for award-winning authors, almost guaranteed to sell 400,000 copies.
“Let Our Joy Remain” is $28.95. With a 10% royalty, Lambert receives at least $2.89 per book sold.
If he sold 400,000 copies, that would be $1,156,000. He would be one of the few millionaires in the book. He could make a living from his writing, which is already rare in France but downright rare in Quebec.
But I wonder: As a millionaire, are you “rich” in the eyes of Kevin Lambert? Are we a “bourgeois” in the eyes of this artist who denounces “gentrification”?
In an interview with La Presse a few months ago, Kevin Lambert had some very harsh words (he clearly likes very harsh words) about the rich.
He began by stating, “With all the money that people at the top of the pyramid have, we could solve so many social problems and make so many changes.” Nobody should have that much money. I have really radical positions on this. I think we need to dispossess these people and confiscate their assets. It shouldn’t exist.
Of course, Kevin Lambert will not be super rich. But will he share his wealth with the poorest? Will he want his hard-earned money “confiscated” by the knights of social justice?
Kevin Lambert also explained: “If the rich in third world countries build walls and armed guards around their homes, in Europe there is the same system of defense of wealth, only it is symbolic.” It is our value system, the social one Classes construct what we associate with beauty and good taste, which serves as a wall between rich and poor. I think the rich are right to be afraid today.”
THE WALL FEEDTHROUGH
Kevin Lambert is currently in Paris to promote his book.
Will he challenge the European vision of what constitutes “beauty” and “good taste” when he is welcomed by the cultural bourgeoisie in Paris?
