Toshiyuki Horie's 'Le Pavé de l'Ours' Explores Normandy Through Japanese Eyes

Toshiyuki Horie, a leading Japanese author born in 1964, publishes 'Le Pavé de l'Ours' with Éditions Gallimard. The novel continues a Japanese literary tradition of European travelogues, but with an ironic and intriguing twist. Set in Normandy near Avranches, the story follows a Japanese protagonist wandering through provincial France, evoking echoes of Émile Littré and Jean de La Fontaine. Beneath its light surface, the narrative carries a grave depth, spiraling into melancholic meditations on the past, including the war and Nazi extermination. The book was reviewed by Philippe Forest in artpress. Horie was previously known in France only for the short story 'Auparavant' (2005), set in Paris's 13th arrondissement Chinatown.