Amis Tintinologists, bonjour.
In the confusion of the Paris murders consequences, I was listening to one of the many debates on the France Culture radio station today. I was deeply both moved and puzzled by the words of guest Abdellah Taïa, a writer and filmmaker from Morocco living in Paris.
He explained that his desperate mother had recently called for his help, because of a cousin of his having turned into a monstrous fanatic, terrorizing the whole family.
The mother said "come and talk to him, please, and bring some of your books" (Abdellah explained that over the past 20-25 years, for several reasons, books have disappeared from homes, but that his mother, who could not read, has somehow kept faith in them).
So Abdellah went, but felt appalled and helpless when he met his cousin: no dialogue was possible. Eventually, he managed to broach the subject of the stories he had read to his cousin when they were kids: the adventures of Tintin and Milou!
"He remembered everything!", Abdellah only commented.
Can we hope, or despair?
For those who understand French,
here is the link to the audio document.
