Today, one of the most popular writers in Europe is the Belgian novelist, writing in French, Amelie Notomb. In a short time, she managed to achieve fame and recognition both among readers and literary critics.
Citizen of the world
Amelie was born in the small commune Etterbek, forming the Brussels-Capital Region, in 1966. The population of this town was a little more than 40 thousand people. True, for a long time the future writer did not stay in it. All thanks to his father - Baron Patrick Notomb. He worked as a diplomat, so Ameli spent her childhood and youth in China, the United States of America, Burma, Japan, Laos and Bangladesh. All this could not but leave a deep imprint on her work.
Having started living permanently in Belgium, Amelie Notomb enters the Department of Romance Languages at the Free University of Brussels. Having studied in it for 5 years, he goes, perhaps, to the most exotic state of Asia - Japan. 10 years spent in the capital of this country - Tokyo, allowed Amelie to write one of her most famous works - the novel "Tokyo Bride". It was after him that the writer began to be recognized on the street, invited to literary forums and festivals.
First novel
The first major
prose work that Notomb managed to publish is the novel Hygiene of a Killer. Amelie finished it in 1992, however, it was translated into Russian only in 2005.
This is one of the longest books of the writer, which from this does not become less interesting. The main character is a Nobel laureate, the famous writer Pretextat Tah. By the way, unusual, and sometimes just ridiculous names of heroes are one of the distinguishing features of Notomb.
Despite his genius and celebrity, the writer is a rare snob, cynic and misanthrope. At the time the novel began, he was 83 years old, he was seriously ill, with no hope of recovery. And then he decides on the first interview in his life. And then begins to receive journalists one by one.
However, most of them do not stay long. Only one young journalist talks with Takh for a long time and unravels the most terrible secret of his life.
"Neither Eve nor Adam"
That is exactly what the 2007 Amelie Notomb novel, called the Tokyo reader, is better known as the Tokyo Bride. This book may seem biographical. However, the writer insists that life only prompted the plot. Although she had a long period when Notomb herself went to the brides of an extraordinary Japanese.
The novel "Neither Eve nor Adam" is a story of passionate love between a French writer and a young Tokyo man from a wealthy family. The novel initially developed as a relationship between a teacher and a student, because Amelie (the heroine of the novel) gives French lessons to an inquisitive Japanese. Not completely mastering the language of Moliere and Zola, he at first called her "my mistress." The quibble of the situation is that this expression is similar to the French “my lover”, and also has the meaning of “teacher”.
Successful film adaptation
The real glory to Amelie Notomb came after the release of the film, based on the "Tokyo Bride". The picture in 2014 was shot by a Belgian director and screenwriter Stefan Lieberski.
As in the novel, in the film, a young and ambitious heroine comes to the country of her childhood to find inspiration and create her first novel. In order to earn a living, she gives announcements about private French language lessons, which come only student - pretty Rinri.
The events of the picture unfold at numerous parties, on unexpected trips, to which Ameli sets off for Japan. All this allows her to discover this country from a new, previously unexplored side, to learn to love and value relationships between people.
The slogan of the film "New" Amelie "in the scenery of Tokyo" guaranteed the film success.
On the stage of "Satyricon"
Another work of Notomb is very familiar to the Russian reader - this is the novel "Enemy Cosmetics", written in 2001 and almost immediately translated into Russian. On the stage of the Satyricon Theater in 2008, a production of the same name appeared, which is still popular with the audience. Roman Kozak became the director and performer of one of the main roles, Konstantin Raikin is also involved in the play .
"Enemy Cosmetics" is a bewitching story about a meeting of two people. A dialogue is established between them. By the way, this is another feature of the Notomb style - descriptions and reasoning are extremely few, mostly only dialogs. At first it seems to the reader that this is trifling, non-binding chatter. However, over time, the connection between the characters becomes more apparent, and the revelations that will occur are all the more terrible. An unexpected denouement is Notomb's proprietary trick, with the help of which she manages to keep the reader in suspense and ignorance to the last pages of the novel.
This book of the Belgian writer scrupulously explores the darkest sides of the human soul. Nobody can guess who the heroes of the novel really will be.
Literary life
Notomb is a very prolific author. By the age of 50, she had already published more than 20 novels, as well as stories, poems and plays by her. Today, the writer settled in Paris, only occasionally visiting relatives and friends in Brussels.
She received her first significant award for the novel "Fear and Awe." She became the Grand Prize of the French Academy. This is one of the most prestigious literary awards that appeared in 1914. Among its laureates were Alphonse de Châteaubriand, Francois Moriac, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Jonathan Littell and many others. This is not only a prestigious award, but also a substantial monetary reward, which today is equal to seven and a half thousand euros.
Almost all Notomb novels have been translated into Russian, many of them are filmed or put on the stage of theaters around the world, among them are “Fear and Awe,” and “Antichrist.” Her last notable work - the novel "The Crime of the Earl of Neville" - was completed in 2015.
In the same year, Amelie Notomb, whose books were already loved by many, was granted the Baron title, which belonged to her father. The Belgian king Philip did it. Despite the fact that Amelie is the daughter of an aristocrat, until that moment she did not have an official title.