Lorette Nobécourt's Novel Blends Lives of Bolaño and Unica Zürn

Lorette Nobécourt's novel 'Grâce leur soit rendue', published by Éditions Grasset, fictionalizes the lives of Roberto Bolaño and Unica Zürn. Set in early 1990s Barcelona, the story follows Chilean writer Roberto Montalvo and Unica Moreau, who meet at a party. Both are Chilean exiles from Pinochet's dictatorship. They fall passionately in love and have a child, Kola. Unica, diagnosed with melancholia by her psychiatrist Alejandra Popovic, pursues dangerous experiences and ultimately commits suicide. Roberto, after grieving in the Himalayas, begins a relationship with Alejandra. Kola later shows signs of inherited troubles. Roberto dies of liver disease. The narrative then follows Kola as a young adult in the Drôme, Rome, and Chile. The novel explores themes of freedom, madness, and transmission.