Guillaume Musso

Guillaume Musso is one of the most popular contemporary French writers. He was born in 1974 in Antibes and fell in love with literature at the age of 10. He began to write when he was a student.

He moved for a short period in USA where he worked as an ice cream vendor, then he returned to France.

His first novel was Skidamarink, but it didn’t had a very big impact upon the world. After a car accident, he started writing about the story of a man who returns to life after a near death experience. The book was an immediate success all over the world, and sold more than 3 million copies. After that, his subsequent titles were also a great success which propagated him directly into the league of the great contemporary writers.

In 2017, he had the honor to be for 7 years in a row the most sold author in France, with more than 1.5 million books sold (“Le Figaro” – GFK, 18.01.2018).

Since his first bestseller in 2004, “Afterwards…” he wrote another 13 novels sold in 32 million copies over the world, from which 25 million only in France and in French speaking countries.

Since then, two of his novels (“Afterwards” and “Lost and found”) were adapted for the screen.

He won a “Prix du meilleur roman adaptable au cinema” (Best adaptable novel for the cinema)  in 2004 and a “Scrivere per Amore” (Award for the love novel)  in 2005.

Asked in an interview how his workroom looks like, he said that he spends half the time in Antibes, his hometown, and the other half in Paris, in an old painting studio from Montparnasse, but he can also write in any other place if he is inspired. He said that most of the ideas come in the airport or abroad. He can be inspired by his own experiences, current events, other works of fiction in all forms or also other people who sees in restaurants, cafes, the metro, or in a shop.

As an example, he wrote the book “Afterwards” after he had a car accident, and the book “Brooklyn girl” tells the story of a famous French writer who started writing since he was ten and who wrote all his life.

Regarding his literature preferences, he prefers Aragon and Apollinaire for poetry.

His favorite novels are:

• Les Années (The years) –  Annie Ernaux (2008)
• The Road – Cormac McCarthy (2006)
• The Secret History – Donna Tartt (1993)
• Misery – Stephen King (1987)
• The Prince of Tides – Pat Conroy (1986)
• Belle du Seigneur (I think it means beautiful lord) –  Albert Cohen (1968)
• Le Hussard sur le toit (The solders from the roof) – Jean Giono (1951)
• Aurélien – Louis Aragon (1944)
• Un amour de Swann ( A love of Swann) – Marcel Proust (1913)
• The Shadow of the wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2001)
• The Cider House Rules – John Irving (1985)
• Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë (1847)

He wrote the following books:

• Skidamarink (2001)
• Et après… (Afterwards – 2004)
• Sauve-moi ( Save me – 2005)
• Seras-tu là? (Will you be there? -2005)
• Parce que je t’aime (Lost and Found – 2007)
• Que serais-je sans toi? (Where Would I Be Without You? – 2009)
• L’Appel de l’ange (Call from an Angel – 2011)
• 7 ans après (Seven years later – 2013)
• Demain (Tomorrow – 2013)
• Central Park – 2014
• L’Instant present (This very instant – 2015)
• La Fille de Brooklyn (Brooklyn Girl – 2016)
• Un appartement à Paris (An apartment in Paris – 2017)

Quotes by Guillame Musso:

“When it comes to books and friends, it is best to have only a few but all good ones.”
― Guillaume Musso, Will You Be There?

“You’ll stop hurting when you stop hoping.”
― Guillaume Musso, Seras-tu là?

“It’s scary being loved. Because life is complicated and all too often it throws you off balance by sending you the right person at the wrong time.”
― Guillaume Musso, Que serais-je sans toi?

“Love is always dangerous. To love is to hope you’ll win it all while running the risk that you could lose it all. And sometimes it’s also about accepting that there’s a risk that you’ll love more than you are loved.”
― Guillaume Musso, Que serais-je sans toi?

“Your soulmate can also be your downfall.”
― Guillaume Musso, Que serais-je sans toi?

“Some say that you know real love when you realise the only person in the world who can console you is the one who has hurt you.”
― Guillaume Musso, Que serais-je sans toi?

Bibliography:

• https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/282080.Guillaume_Musso
• http://www.guillaumemusso.com
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Musso
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Musso#Bibliographie

© picnicontheshelf, January 19, 2018