The not so “Close” house by Philippe Amen

Christian Dorsan, novelist,
blogger and contributor
of the group reading
20 minutes Books, recommend you Close of Philippe Amen whom he interviewed. His novel was published on July 1, 2021 by Éditions L’Harmattan.

Her favorite quote:

(…) He put his hand on this white cross before sitting down and meditating, melancholy and inhabited by an invasion: while loving himself too much, he did not love himself.

Why this book?

  • Because this book is a labyrinth, like this house whose rooms all have different atmospheres. The reader will also find eroticism, a social novel, a Shakespearean intrigue … It’s up to you not to get lost or to open the right door.
  • Because this book is disconcerting, the camera of this house (or fortress) being conducive to the experimentation of desire but not only. The title clearly announces the atmosphere of this house. “The closed place is here constitutive of the story,” explains Philippe Amen. Because the hero lives his life as an issue that he wants to control, since he has the financial means, control which excludes any disturbance. The perfect program for a gaming enthusiast. “
  • Because the central character, the wealthy Lucas Flegmine, is quite enigmatic at the bottom, there is this impression that nothing can reach him. However, “he is neither a loner doomed to boredom nor a fragile man,” says the author. On the contrary, he is “a willful, mischievous man and ultimately not very calculating”. He will even learn fragility, which for Philippe Amen, is “a virtue”.
  • Because there is a balance of power and a game of seduction between Konstantin the butler and his boss, a game that hides an unconscious attraction between these two men. “Attraction, desire, that’s what I’m pointing out, is a phenomenon linked to structures rather than to bodies,” considers Philippe Amen. It is a debate to be decided, of course, and I could be wrong … “

The essentials in 2 minutes

The plot. Lucas Flegmine is a rich man who lives in a luxurious house with many nooks and crannies. Cut off from the world, his devoted butler organizes meetings with young men who must scrupulously follow a contract to satisfy him. Everything is well ordered until the day when …

Characters. Lucas Phlegmine, a rich businessman who lives as a recluse, Konstantin his handyman, the staff of the house, the passing boys.

Places. A luxurious isolated house, somewhere in France.

The time. 2011.

The author. Philippe Amen is a teacher in Poitiers, he is a specialist in intimate novels of the XIX, Close is his first novel.

This book was read with curiosity, like a voyeur who observes the one who watches and delays his pleasure, a book which also speaks of politics, of permanent dialogue between what we postulate of life and the grains of sand which could stop the machine of our habits. Trick or revealing reading?

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