Jean-Yves Jouannais's Debut Novel 'Jésus Hermès Congrès'

Jean-Yves Jouannais has published his first novel, 'Jésus Hermès Congrès' (Verticales), continuing his critical exploration of idiocy. The book follows the mineral anthropomorphic hero Jésus Hermès Congrès, a 'majestic and deformed meteorite born by crashing,' and his son Don Ignatius Congrès, who aims to fail at life. Other characters include the shoulderless writer Philippe Alibert and Exhalia-la-fille-aux-muqueuses-vieille-France. The novel is a volcanic pamphlet that channels Bernhardian detestation, Hugolian fury, and Rabelaisian satire, targeting contemporary demagoguery. Jouannais uses language to dynamite the world, creating a baroque edifice of stone-men, shaman-messies, and fire-women. The text reenacts historical traumas, such as Colonel Driant's death on February 22, 1916, to liberate the living from history's spells. Thanatos dominates the narrative, undermining plot and coherence. Jouannais's Wittgensteinian questioning, present in his earlier 'Artistes sans œuvres' (Hazan, 1997), pushes writing to its limits, creating ontological breaches between cosmic realms. The novel's burlesque esotericism aims to create its own values, turning ridicule and incoherence into virtues.