Delicately eccentric, Brice Saint-Lazare prizes Mao-collar blazers. Underneath, he wears white shirts, over which he meticulously buttons his silk cardigan. In cool weather, the elegant memorialist adorns his neck with a shimmering scarf. A discreet smile usually lights up his face, framed to the shoulders by dark hair.
According to Brice, Madame Bovary has a major flaw.
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| Other times, whole pages endure this odd surgery. |
After having sought thrill here and there — gotten her family into debt, cheated on her husband, neglected her child — Emma Bovary should not end her life. Instead, she should quietly raise her daughter, Berthe, alongside her husband, Charles. Emma has all the qualities of a superior soul. Inclined to dream, her search for perfection reaches the sublime. Assuredly, that woman devises her own destiny. Displeased by her investigations, her only remaining option is to find the answers in everyday life. This capacity in particular will arouse readers' admiration for the misunderstood heroine.
As attested by the publications contained in his library, Brice Saint-Lazare has long overcome the matter of literary disappointments. Juliet wakes up in time to prevent Romeo from drinking the deathly potion; they make for the Tuscan hills and live the perfect love. Marcel hits Henri Husson and not Pierre Sérizy; Belle de Jour, freed by means of the crime, knows full bliss with her husband.
Brice purchases two copies of every novel that tempts him. That way, he contributes twice to the prosperity of the literature industry. If, after reading it, the story suits him, he donates the second copy. Otherwise, he reworks the plot, then cuts the words he needs from the second copy. He glues them on top of the others in the original version. When required, he types the necessary elements himself, on his typewriter. Sometimes, he changes just a handful of terms. Other times, whole pages endure this odd surgery. Brice Saint-Lazare shapes his library, the only one of its kind in the world.
He applies his literary fiddling without discrimination. Recent printing or antique, commercial fiction or eighteenth-century classic, he builds, in his opinion, the most judicious scenarios. The first years, Brice reprimanded himself. What a shame, devastating others' work like this! How could he! But he allows himself to chisel dramas in accordance with a deeply felt demand for coherence rising from the essentials of his soul. Memorialist by day, he becomes a rewriter in the evening intimacy. Needless to say, under no circumstances will he lend his books to anybody.
That evening, Brice hosts Achille Praxenthaler. Vying with each other in erudition, the two men personify subtelty. Social stars, they speak at cultural events, on television, or on the radio. When Brice slips away to add the finishing touches to the sole meunière, Achille pinches a random book.
One doesn't know the exact details of their agreement; however, six weeks later, Achille is forgiven. It must be noted that when returning the filched volume to Brice, his old friend submitted one hell of a version of Huckleberry Finn.
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