After " Milarepa" and " The Dreamer of Ostend ", I was sure that I would not be dissapointed at all, it is rare for me to be dissapointed by a book of a beloved author, in this case - being neither more or less surprised, in any sense.
I could, though, notify two new elements in Schmitt's plot that have touched my weakness : piano - and writing, in a context and a combination of dreams.
I see this novel as an initiatory one, which takes you to the beginnings of the author Schmitt, giving you a mirroir in time, in which you can watch and learn about Chopin, about a creative and written act. A novel short in length, but wide in meaning and intensity, as Schmitt has already accustomed me to. Initially, for a few dozen pages, I thought I had failed in choosing this book, I thought maybe I wasn't in the mood, because - yes - you need a certain state of being for this author. The approach of the subject confused me a little. I like Chopin, ( ha, this reminded me of Gazebo's song ) - and I love the piano, I think it's the sound I like the most, even in jazz, but it seemed to me that everything was approached a little too theoretically, for a lover of classical music, without specialized studies.
However, Schmitt turns the story into an extremely powerful one, a wonderful ars - poetica.
" Madame Pylinska et le secret de Chopin" - is a novel of self-discovery through music, closely linked here to the creative act of writing.
There are strong autobiographical accents from Schmitt's childhood, from which a sequence with his aunt, performing a Chopin pièce on the piano - remained imprinted deep in his mind, continuing in Schmitt's youth, when - as a student, he decided to take piano lessons, hoping to recreate the same sensations as in childhood.
But, beyond the piano lessons, Schmitt discovers a life, his maximum intensity, and finally his true vocation - writing.
Initially, we have a child Éric , fascinated by Chopin's performance. Then, as in a fairy tale with mystical valences, Éric tries to find the perfection of that time from his youth, but not even the greatest pianists in the world would be able to reproduce everything at the intensity of that time. This childhood memory becomes his ideal, a dream - terminus, taking piano lesson from madame Pylinska, he develops a real way of life, based on listening to the inner voice, for to observe what he really want, and to be able to implement what his soul dictates.
Schmitt writes with a extraordinary force, and all that - in a equally strikingly short, concise form, this is another aspect for which I envy him, because I would also like to express my ideas as he does.