Author Description

This welcome volume brings to English-language readers two beautifully crafted works by the internationally acclaimed French author Pierre Michon. Populated by distant and little-known figures&#151;Irish and French monks, saints, and scientists in <i>Winter Mythologies;</i> Benedictine monks in the Vend&#233;e region of France in<i> Abbots</i>&#151;the tales frequently draw on obscure histories and other literary sources.<br><br> Michon brings his characters to life in spare, evocative prose. Each, in his or her own way, exemplifies a power of belief that brings about an achievement&#151;or catastrophe&#151;in the real world: monasteries are built upon impossibly muddy wastes, monks acquire the power of speech, lives are taken, books are written, saints are created on the flimsiest of evidence. Michon&#8217;s exploration in ancient archives has led him to the discovery of such often deluded figures and their deeds, and his own exceptional powers bestow upon them a renewed life on the written page. This in turn is an example of the power of belief, which for Michon is what makes literature itself possible. <i>Winter Mythologies</i> and <i>Abbots</i> are meant to be read slowly, to be savored, to be mined for the secrets Michon has to tell.