Antoine Laurain – Proust Questionnaire

Meet Antoine Laurain, author of The President’s Hat, The Red Notebook, French Rhapsody and The Portrait.

1. My defining characteristic

Tenacity; I needed plenty of it to get into writing.

2. The quality I look for in a man

Straightforwardness, which often goes hand in hand with intelligence.

3. The quality I look for in a woman

That she beguiles me.

4. My favourite pastime

Stroking my cat.

5. My biggest flaw

Putting my hand up at auctions…

6. What I value most about my friends

The fact that they exist, even in small numbers.

7. My idea of perfect happiness

Living off my books … and living well!

8. My favourite colour

Le rouge et le noir.

9. If I could choose to be anything, I would be…

My cat.

10. Where I would like to live

Sixteenth-century Venice, preferably in a palace with a gondola and chauffeur.

11. My favourite authors

Proust, Modiano, Céline, Huysmans, Sacha Guitry…

12. My fictional heroes

The photographer in the Antonioni film Blow-Up, played by David Hemmings.

13. The thing I can’t stand

Being bored by other people’s books…

14. The talent I wish I had

The ability to get up at 6am every day and start writing at 6.15.

15. My current state of mind

Busy.

16. The fault I am most able to forgive

Forgetting a loved one’s birthday, because it suggests they’ll never grow old in your eyes, which is flattering.

17. My motto

Sic luceat lux (May the light shine thus).