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France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, has been awarded to Laurent Mauvignier for his family chronicle “La Maison vide” (“The Empty House”). The author succeeds Kamel Daoud, winner of the Goncourt prize in 2024 for “Houris”.
“La Maison vide” beat other favourites for the coveted prize, including the stunning and harrowing book “La Nuit au cœur” by Nathacha Appanah, who was a finalist for the award and who won the Femina Prize yesterday for her book about the victims of male violence.
Other shortlisted candidates for this year’s Goncourt were Emmanuel Carrère (“Kolkhoze”) and Caroline Lamarche (“Le bel obscur”).
Mauvignier, 58, made a name for himself with his first novel, “Loin d’eux”, published in 1999, and his fifth novel “Dans la foule”, published in 2006. The latter won the prix Fnac and is regarded as one of his most popular works, alongside “Des hommes” (2009), about the atrocities of the Algerian War. In 2020, the book was adapted for the big screen by director Lucas Belvaux.
“La Maison vide” is Mauvignier’s tenth novel and recounts in 750 pages the fictionalised saga of his ancestors, from the late 19th century to post-WWII, as seen through the eyes of the women in his family. It has already won the Le Monde literary Prize, the Landerneau readers award and Nancy boksellers’ prize.
The editor’s note (Editions de Minuit) states: “In an empty house, there remains a piano, a chest of drawers, a Legion of Honour medal, a lock of hair and a photograph with a face patiently cut out with scissors. To understand what happened there, the narrator goes back in time, confronting the history and shattered destinies of Marie-Ernestine and Marguerite, who faced the violence of men and two world wars.”
The Goncourt Prize is given by the Académie Goncourt to the author of “the best and most imaginative prose work of the year”. The prize carries a symbolic reward of only €10, but results in considerable recognition and book sales for the winning author.