This is the story of a father, an exemplary cop, a professional of the truth. For eighteen years, he chose a strange lie: another love, another child, twenty minutes from home, and nobody knew, or almost nobody knew. One day, the scandal breaks and one of his sons, a journalist, leads the investigation—or rather covers, as in a reportage, the implosion of the parental model—between Lyon, Paris and Mali.
Born in Lyon in 1981 on a sparkling autumn day,
Richard Gaitet is the author of three novels published by Intervalles Editions: Les heures pâles (2013), Découvrez Mykonos hors saison (2014) and L’aimant (2016, with drawings by Riff Reb’s). He then published two documentary stories with Paulsen Editions: Tête en l’air (2018) and Rimbaud Warriors (2019).
He is also a journalist for Arte Radio and Radio Nova, where he hosts and produces the podcasts “Bookmakers, les écrivain·e·s au travail” and “L’Arche de Nova”.
Richard Gaitet is also the co-author and voice of the animated series Culte – lecteurs sous influence, created by David Brun-Lambert and Aurélie Pollet, broadcast on the Arte website (2017). Finally, he participated in the screenplay of the film Si tu voyais son cœur, directed by Joan Chemla, with Gael García Bernal (2017).
“In addition to a very attractive title, Les heures pâles has the charm of beautiful literature (...) A fascinating story (...) We speak here of what is assumed, in the broadest sense of the term (...) This moment when one pales after the news, and that it is advisable to exceed to live again.”
“The author depicts with incredible accuracy and truth the psychology of each of the protagonists. A neat style, a musicality and a fabulous rhythm.”
“A first novel that has body and heart!”
