2024-09-20 11:00:00
With “Happy Life”, author David Foenkinos introduces us to the strange ceremony of false funerals in South Korea. This novel, both exciting and profound, leads us to question the essentials of our existence. Interview with the author.
“To love life even more, we should have died once” : Charlotte Solomon. With this epigraph which pays tribute to the painter who gave him to write his masterpiece “Charlotte” (2014), David Foenkinos sets the tone for his new novel “La vie bonne”.
“Many of my books talk about the weakness of creatures, of death, resurrection. Maybe because I had a near death experience that changed my life », confides David Foenkinos to France Soir, author of the best-seller “La Déliccesse” displaced in around forty languages.
Eric Kherson, originally from Rennes, has done aformidable, quickly rising to the position of sales director at Decathlon. “He is forty years old; he is young to old age but the future seems to have no surprises for him. »
His wife left him, he almost saw his son again. He feels guilty after his father’s death. A form of general indifference in life brought him. In the last presidential election, he did not vote…
A banal character reminiscent of Houellebecq’s anti-hero
After twenty years of work in the group, he accepted the unusual offer of his former classmate, Amélie Mortiers, the newly appointed director of the office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Trade. He wants to add the skills of the leader of “civil society” to convince foreign investors to set up in France. Eric Kherson used himself with talent, without promotion.
In short, it is a fairly banal character that reminds us of Houellebecq’s anti-hero.
In January 2020, he went on a mission with Amélie to convince the CEO of Samsung to choose France over Germany or Romania to set up a connected scooter company.
Against the background of the “starting country”, this epic in South-East Asia is of raw reality which suggests that David Foenkinos has some political connections that inform him about their challenges.
The “Coffin Ritual”, a therapy in South Korea
On page 101, the story shifts into eccentricity, zaniness and becomes jubilant. He then took the form of a policeman walking by when he started playing the piano.
“In the first part I describe the business environment to balance the exploitation of the rest of the story”explained David Foenkinos, winner of the Renaudot Prize.
In an unlikely “Happy Life” store in Seoul, Eric discovers a false funeral ceremony. He played the game: he chose the photo and epitaph to be displayed on his grave, wrote a short obituary. He lay in a wooden coffin with a small hole in the lid. In total darkness, you breathe, meditate and let yourself be drawn into the power of the experience. “Nothing is taken lightly, in this static journey towards the essential. ».
The coffin ritual is a shock treatment for Eric. He will never be the same again. Your character then gets something. He suddenly resigned, then created his own fake funeral home in France. Success is amazing. Reality TV shows, Smart Box, the opening of a franchise network…
Korean woman at fake funeral in South Korea @Lee/AFP
Is this ritual actually practiced in South Korea? But yes, these fake funerals are indeed in the country of dawn that records the highest suicide rate among OECD countries.
To combat this epidemic, in the early 2000s, Kim Ki-Ho noticed a fake funeral while writing a book on meditation and death. Today, is the head of the company Happy Death, it organizes up to 300 events per month.
His concept has been widely copied by many funeral directors. Buddhists, Christians, atheists… welcome. A true “management tool”, companies offer this experience to their employees.
Many participants testify on the forums that they enjoy life better (or even have a taste for life) after they have experienced this party.
A romantic comedy set in the time of Covid
Although the topic of death is important, we do not treat it in a way that causes anxiety. David Foenkinos delivers a well-crafted scenario, that is funny and ridiculous.
This novel is also a romantic comedy: Eric and Amélie experience a love affair over many decades.
Covid is ruining their lives. It is difficult for Amélie to live with her husband and her two daughters. The “working girl” lost her big job during the ministry change. Emmanuel Macron has nothing to offer him…
This history combined with French political life takes the reader into the history of sport. It also encourages him to ask himself about the meaning of his life, what can improve it, or even change it. That is the magic of this novel. It makes you want “The Happy Life” so as not to have regrets six feet under.
“In fact, I want to ask the desire to change people’s lives, to go to what is important, to what brings us to life. The covid period makes us fragile and it is an impulse to reflection. ” Am I happy? », What do I need to change in my life? It led to a wave of resignation with the #quitmyjob movement, divorce, fleeing the big cities… notes David Foenkinos.
David Foenkinos had a near-death experience at age 16
The unique way of approaching death is amazing. Especially since now David Foenkinos has talked a little about his personal life. On the occasion of this book, we learn that he had a near death experience (NDE) at the age of 16. After medical errors, he ended up in the hospital for heart surgery. During the blood test, he lost consciousness. “This illusion takes the form of water in a tunnel of yellow and blue light. I lean back…it was an absolute fun time. My mother by my side thought I was dead, then I woke up.”.
After his NDE, David Foenkinos had a quick learning experience of a lifetime. “Something in me had “opened up” and it seemed to have sealed my destiny as a writer. This experience made me appreciate nature, music, literature, painting, museums… I need to connect with beauty. »
Some say they live after this “second life, rebirth”he insisted.
Will David Foenkinos be a novelist? “I think I am very mysterious. I have no religion. My religion is literature. I believe in spiritual forces, in something that exists beyond us. Nature draws me to the path of beauty. Writing makes me sensor of signs, meanings and emotions”.
His next book, which will be released in February, will focus on reincarnation and clairvoyance. “I have no gifts in this area,” he explained.
For those who have not had the opportunity to experience it, we are coming to “Coffin Ritual”! But this idea did not appeal to French entrepreneurs. ” It’s a shame, sorry David Foenkinos. This shock therapy can be beneficial for people who are depressed or suicidal. But the intentions were not ready in France. Consider how dangerous the arguments on euthanasia are. We should be able to choose our time of death rather than torturing and burdening our loved ones like we did in Switzerland and Belgium. We have a lot to do with death. This is not the case in most civilizations. In Mexico, we celebrate the dead with gifts, we celebrate in a joyful and colorful way. »
“The sweet life” David Foenkinos, Gallimard, 19 euros
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