Pierre Bergounioux's 'Carnet de notes' Chronicles Three Decades of Daily Life

The third volume of Pierre Bergounioux's 'Carnet de notes,' covering 2001–2010, has been published by Verdier. Spanning 1,262 pages for approximately 3,650 days, the book documents the artist-writer's mundane routines—commutes on the RER, supermarket shopping, teaching, and sculpting—with minimal reference to major world events. For instance, the September 11, 2001 attacks are mentioned only briefly at the end of a day's entry. Bergounioux's notes focus on his immediate circle, his dual practice of sculpture and writing, and his melancholic observations of human folly. The work is not a traditional writer's journal but a deliberate inventory of existence aimed at combating the ravages of time and memory. Bergounioux describes the project as a way to 'fix the content of my days, for fear that oblivion will carry everything away.' The volume also traces the aging body, recording minor ailments, heart incidents, and growing anxieties. The first entry dates back to December 16, 1980, and the project continues as a materialization of passing time, akin to a vanitas. Bergounioux views literature as a mode of investigation less suited to capturing the particular than rigorous discourses, yet his notes descend into minute details. The book is reviewed by Alexandre Mare.