Pierre Mertens' 'Perasma': A 600-Page Novel of Love and Sex

Pierre Mertens' novel 'Perasma' (Seuil, Fiction & Cie) is a 600-page work that focuses exclusively on love and sex, with only brief allusions to political tragedies in countries visited by the narrator. The story follows a middle-aged man, a music enthusiast living in the fictional country of Innommie, who struggles with health and sexual issues. He meets a woman named Perasma, and their encounter ignites a passionate, devastating, and fruitful fire that affects body, mind, soul, and senses. Mertens analyzes the joy and torment of love with lucidity, cruelty, and underlying tenderness, leaving the reader in a painful yet beneficial exhaustion. The narrator describes this love as 'my sweet madness, my tender delirium. A carnal meditation. A silent incantation.' The book is noted for being a rare example of a novel that, aside from a few references to tragedies, is entirely about love and sex. Jacques Henric provides commentary on the work.