Translucent as a snowflake... such would be, for me, the best abstract for this small book.
Snow is the first novel
of Maxence Fermine. It is, at least, the first which he published. It presents to us the traditional Japan of the XIXème century in a simple, soft and poetic way.
The principal character, Yuko, dreams to become poet. He is poet. He writes snow. He writes snow in haiku. A haiku is a Japanese poetic model. They are seventeen syllables to say the life, to say time, to say snow. The haiku runs like the water of the river. A haiku is composed by very few words and a lot of vacuum. It is the aesthetic model which you can find in all Japan.
So, Yuko goes in the mountains of Honshu, where he will be able to contemplate the eternal snows. On its return, he had composed many haiku. All reflected the whiteness of the snow. They were of great quality, but
missed colors.
Yuko left once more in his father. This time, it was not the same purpose. It was no more the snow he was looking for but the colors he missed. He went on a long journey to find the Master Soseki, the Master of the colors. Master Soseki is blind. In Japan, one should not be astonished by such a thing, most beautiful calligraphy can be carried out by a man who can’t contemplate them. In Japan, more than elsewhere, one should not proud for appearances.
Through his initiatory voyages, Yuko learned snow. He understood the colors. Then, finally, he find love.
This small work is a wonder that I recommend to you all. Its poetic makes it a fluid reading.
There is a version illustrated by George Lemoine.
If you want to discover new French talent, I think that’s it’s a good idea to read it. You can, by the way, read it in French, because the language is very simple.