Mathieu Lindon's Double Publication Explores Writing and Identity

Mathieu Lindon releases two books simultaneously with Éditions POL: "Je vous écris," a collection of critical narratives, and "Ma catastrophe adorée," a personal account of a forbidden relationship. The works investigate the act of writing in the first person, the tension between autobiography and fiction, and the author's struggle with identity. In "Ma catastrophe adorée," Lindon recounts his relationship with Patrick, a 24-year-old man who refuses physical intimacy, stating "I love you but not like a boyfriend," later clarified as "like my father." The book explores the word "comme" (like) as a crucial conjunction, linking it to Lindon's own father, Jérôme Lindon, the publisher of Éditions de Minuit. Lindon positions himself among "intouchables" (untouchables), a term borrowed from Christine Angot's "L'Inceste," suggesting that becoming a writer means ceasing to be a son or daughter. The texts reference figures such as Hervé Guibert, Marie NDiaye, Christine Angot, and Rachid O., and engage with Roland Barthes's ideas on writing. Lindon asserts that a writer always speaks of themselves, even when not using the first person, and that the talent lies not in solving enigmas but in telling them.