'Bit by bit the chemical process unfolds'

 

“Something happens between a novel and its reader which is similar to the process of developing photographs, the way they did it before the digital age.  The photograph, as it was printed in the darkroom, became visible bit by bit.  As you read your way through a novel, the same chemical process takes place.” – Patrick Modiano

 

Born in France on July 30, 1945 Modiano was honored for his life’s work with the 2014 Nobel Prize, and his analogy of the development of the novel “before our eyes” is an apt description of his style.   He is noted for letting the picture slowly unfold, sometimes leaving us startled, sometimes satisfied, sometimes angry, but always interested in what’s coming next.

The winner of almost every major European and French writing award, he was honored for his life’s body of work even prior to winning the Nobel and was – up until that award – one of the few international writers whose work had never been translated into English. But, of course, it has now.

 

Modiano says he writes for a few hours – “every morning” – and that, for him, “getting started” has sometimes been a challenge.  “I quickly realized that it is difficult to get started when writing a novel. You have this dream of what you want to create, but it is like walking around a swimming pool and hesitating to jump in because the water is too cold.”