A “Big Mirror” to Reflect Reality
(B2) If the book fair is devoted to "Flemish letters", how can we ignore the books that are being prepared in Brussels, proclaimed capital of the northern provinces of Belgium. Alongside publishers carrying contemporary Dutch literature (Castor Astral, Labor, Actes sud, etc.), we therefore preferred to meet a young French-speaking publisher. A symbolic snub. May our Belgian friends not hold it against us! But "The Big Mirror" - present at this show - is worth the detour. A newcomer to the market - which is rare enough to point out - he developed a talented literature. Created by a very young writer Stéphane Lambert, a little over a year ago, with the complicity and help of Luc Pire of the editions of the same name and Marc Philipson, owner of the Filigranes bookstore, a place where he it's good to stroll around, even on Sundays or at 7 am, the "Grand Miroir" house reflects this triple passion for reading. "We wanted, explains Stéphane Lambert, "to offer small texts, easy to carry, to read, in square format at the start to have an affordable price between pocket and classic presentation". So novels at first sight. From 'L' Spanish inn and other Belgian stories" by Alain Berenboom to "Ours don't have a parking problem" by Nicolas Ancion to ""Grégoire and the mobile phone" by Laurent de Graeve, all these texts cultivate a difference, light as a whipped egg white "Our strength is not having a school, no benchmarks - explains Stéphane Lambert - not being crushed by tradition. We are groping our way. Which gives personal, more singular styles." Grand Miroir also has a collection of "Panorama" essays. "Being a publisher is a form of commitment, a means, a vehicle of thought and ideas, it would be a shame to not to use it" pleads Stéphane Lambert. A successful bet with the fascinating book by Marc Uyttendaele: "Belgium told to Noa". This lawyer and university professor offers us to understand this land of paradox, torn between Flemish cultures and French, and both creative and imaginative to continue to live together... A model for countries in conflict!
Nicolas Gros-Verheyde © Christian testimony
More: www.legrandmiroir.com