Exclusive interview with Laurent Gounelle, author of the bestseller “The alarm”. This dystopian novel invites readers to reflect on mass manipulation and the gradual implementation of liberticidal measures. Documented, easy to read, entertaining.
See you on a Monday afternoon, in Montparnasse, in the library lounge of the Calmann-Lévy publishing house. Laurent Gounelle welcomes us with his sweet smile and his big blue eyes. The author of “The man who wanted to be happy”world bestseller published in 2008, translated into 40 languages, is still determined to be happy!
We had met on the occasion of this first novel and were talking about spirituality. Fifteen years later, the world is no longer the same. The global health crisis has upset our certainties and our choices. Laurent Gounelle now lives in Vannes with his wife and two children. His literary successes did not go to his head. On the contrary, he took advantage of his well-established notoriety in the world of publishing to publish “The alarm”, a dystopian novel unlike his usual literary creations.
“The general population does not know what is happening. And she doesn’t even know that she doesn’t know.” This quote from Noam Chomsky, a famous American linguist, 94, is highlighted in the novel. It sets the tone of the book perfectly.
This is the first time that Laurent Gounelle, an economist by training, has anchored one of his novels so much in the news. And he explains: “We are sometimes faced with exceptional situations that deserve unusual action. I chose to write this book because I believe that, in our context, raising awareness is beneficial.”
Based on referenced sociological, philosophical and economic concepts, this book is also an attempt to better understand the 21st century. The author does not hesitate to affirm his points of view. At the risk of displeasing. Over 100,000 copies have already been sold. The readers who write to him have never been so numerous. They thank him for illuminating their life path.
Stopping accidents: containment of cars… and their drivers
“I found my inspiration in the situation we have been experiencing since Covid-19. It seemed curious to me in 2020 to complete a certificate myself to go out without being able to go more than a kilometer. Why pile up on the sidewalks in front of the stores instead of going to breathe in nature? The establishment of the health pass was the trigger for writing this book”, says Laurent Gounelle for FranceEvening.
In this novel – very short which can be read in two or three hours (alas!) – the two main protagonists are friends who met in roommates when they were students. Tom, the narrator, is single, an engineer; he lives in Paris in a small apartment. A banal life like that of millions of people. His friend Christos, Franco-Greek, lives in Athens. After studying linguistics and psychosociology, he worked as a sociologist, but did not earn a fortune. He is happy with his freedom in the country of the cradle of democracy. The sun shines on the Acropolis.
It all starts with a President of France who decides to go to war against death. Surrounded by his “Defence Council”, he announces that “the first battle would target the most unjust death: that which occurs without warning during road accidents… The media began to announce each day the number of dead from the previous day, the number of wounded admitted to hospital , the number of dying in intensive care. One could not turn on the radio or television or open a newspaper without being caught up in this brutal, chilling, implacable information. Incessant.”
Manipulation is to democracies what the truncheon is to totalitarian regimes
Does this remind you of something ? This novel does not lack humor for subjects that remain anxiety-provoking. Even if the narrative is not that of a pandemic, the management of the emergency is the same. Tick tock, tick tock… A whole series of measures follow: the confinement of cars, the obligation to present a paper for each exceptional outing, the wearing of a neck brace while driving. People had to wait for the arrival of new autonomous vehicles, the only safe ones, because they were free from any human error. Tom is grateful to the government for tackling the problem. He leaves his car in the parking lot, goes to telecommuting, no longer sees anyone… except the caretaker of his building. A good little soldier.
“He who controls people’s fear becomes the master of their souls”, said Machiavelli. On the phone, Christos tries to awaken his friend’s critical spirit. He wants to rouse Tom from his torpor, from his submission to government diktat. For this, he explains to her the strategies of mass manipulation that have existed for more than a century. He talks to him about the theses of Noam Chomsky who was his teacher. He has written reference works on the fabrication of consent and population control. One of his quotes sends shivers down the spine: “Manipulation is to democracies what the truncheon is to totalitarian regimes.”
During confinement, Laurent Gounelle documented a lot. All economic theories and historical references are sourced with an important bibliography in appendix. A rather rare approach, but this novel aims to inform, to make people think. No form of elitism on the part of Gounelle, because he simply states complex phenomena.
“I put forward Edward Bernays, Freud’s nephew, who took over from his uncle the idea that people believe they have a rational mind when in reality they are unknowingly subject to their unconscious, he points out. There is no point in convincing people with arguments targeting their reason: you have to appeal to their instincts and their emotions.”
Biometric chip to track sugar
War against death, act II: sugar is judged as a mortal enemy causing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. When the Minister of Health announced the possibility of having a biometric chip implanted under the skin, Tom was downright enthusiastic. As soon as he had access, depending on his age group, he volunteered. Connected to an application on his smartphone, he was able to adjust his sugar consumption.
“Most people have values such as freedom, security, honesty, loyalty, kindness… By playing on the fear of individuals, the hierarchy of values is upset. Security takes precedence over freedom, because people think that by giving up their freedom, they will live longer, explains Laurent Gounelle. Scientists found that elephants in zoos, well-fed, vaccinated, lived half as long as those in the wild, facing viruses and starvation. For me ‘my freedom’ is far superior to ‘my security’!”
Throughout the pages, the author challenges the reader on existing practices: the subsidies granted to the major media, the misdeeds of video games, the adulterous relations between multinationals and heads of state, the 25,000 lobbyists at work with the European Union, globalisation, the Davos Forum…
Suspension of heating, universal income, end of the single-family home
“My entourage advised me not to write this book, because I risked being demolished, losing half of my readers. In fact, that was not the case. Quite the contrary. It took me fifteen years to free myself from my fears. If I hadn’t written this book, I would have felt like a coward!”confides the novelist to us.
In this, Laurent Gounelle joins Albert Camus who said that “the two tasks that make the greatness of the profession of writer are the service of truth and that of freedom.” It is clear that the silence of intellectuals and artists on the Covid-19 crisis is deafening. With a few rare exceptions.
A scene from the book strangely recalls the concern of the French when they were told of possible power cuts. Tom is informed of the suspension of power to his heating circuit. He reached his “regulatory quota for the current month”. This is followed by a rather unpleasant moralizing message on global warming. His self-driving car refuses to start. Same reason: he has reached his travel quota for the week. But he is delivered a fridge whose obsolescence is programmed. His salary will soon be swallowed up. “Economic growth comes at the cost of intellectual, cultural, psychological and spiritual collapse…”underlines the author.
Universal income, abolition of cash payments, end of the individual house: the government is taking these measures one after the other. This is to ensure the safety, health and well-being of the population. Of course, we are immersed here in full fiction.
Facial recognition to eradicate violence
The number of depressions and mental illnesses has exploded in the country. Tom got angry with half of his family and a good third of his friends with whom he completely disagrees on the analysis of the events. He is alone, cut off from those he loved. He feels growing within him a growing malaise.
In order to fight against violence and insecurity, the government is setting up facial recognition cameras. This system reads people’s facial expressions to detect emotions that may lead to criminal action. Some then denounce a desire for generalized policing and are accused of being conspirators, a label taken up by all the media. Isn’t this reminiscent of a Chinese-style social control system?
“Unlike Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, which imagined a 50-year-old future, the timeline of the events imagined in my novel is five years away”emphasizes Laurent Gounelle.
Coded, chipped, filed, listed… Stuck, done like a rat
There is no happy end for this opus which is not a Hollywood production.
Tom ceases to be a free human being. He is for life “coded, chipped, filed, listed…”. He is stuck, made like a rat.
Well, you have understood: all this will never happen. It’s just pure fantasy. The leaders who govern us love freedom too much to find themselves trapped with their families and loved ones in a world-wide prison lifestyle.
“With the Covid-19 crisis, we have a window of opportunity to raise our consciences. We must crystallize our minds on a free and healthy world. This is how we have control over our destiny. I have confidence in the future”assures Laurent Gounelle.
“The alarm” Reads straight through like a thriller. The reminder of spiritual traditions that elevate the soul, the humorous touches that dot the story make the pill pass, which has a particularly bitter taste. It is a book to offer to the greatest number hoping “wake” the consciences. Small candles are lit to go towards a path of light. Thanks to Laurent Gounelle.
Le Réveil, Laurent Gounelle, 198 pages, 15 euros (e-book: 10.99 euros)
To know more : https://www.laurentgounelle.com/