Thomas Hairmont's 'Le coprophile' Wins Prix Sade, Blends Scatology and Social Critique

Thomas Hairmont's debut novel 'Le coprophile' has been awarded the Prix Sade. The first-person narrative follows a brilliant mathematics student invited to Stanford University who develops an obsessive interest in his own feces, progressing from contemplation to collection, bodily application, and ingestion. The protagonist becomes a 'Macérateur,' organizing orgies for coprophiles worldwide. Hairmont draws parallels between the protagonist's behavior and financial systems, comparing the circulation of feces to financial products traded among investors. The novel is described as a humorous, introspective journal with precise writing, situating itself within a literary tradition including Rabelais, Sade, Bataille, and Pasolini. The review, published on artpress.com, emphasizes the work's joyful gravity and its critique of Western society, technology groups, and university complexes, while asserting that the protagonist is not mad but an aesthete and gourmet.