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A Caribbean family odyssey that leaves the weight of the past inherited from the ancestors weighing on the living, an investigation into a grandfather that leads to understanding and forgiveness of the father. These are, in essence, the themes of the works that the two writers invited to Saint-Barthélemy on Wednesday November 26 will present as part of the 25th Festival Écritures des Amériques. The authors, Charmaine Wilkerson and Thibault de Montaigu, will be available to readers on the island at a literary event organized by the Saint-B'Art association, a partner of the festival, on the same November 26, starting at 6.30pm at Le Brigantin in Gustavia.
Journalist and writer Charmaine Wilkerson was born in New York before spending her childhood in Jamaica. She then moved to Los Angeles, California, before settling in Rome, Italy, where she has lived for almost twenty years. Although she has published two books since then ("Deluge" in 2023 and "Good dirt" in 2025), it is to discuss her first work entitled "Les parts oubliées" (Original title: "Black cake") that she will be in Saint-Barth. A novel that explores moral inheritance and the weight of an ancestor's past through the story of a family spanning several generations, taking readers from the USA to the Caribbean via England. "A twirling first novel with hypnotic power," wrote the daily Le Monde in an article published in November 2023. "It's modern writing, and the story speaks to us because it's about the Caribbean," points out Christian Hardelay of the Saint-B'Art association.
Charmaine Wilkerson's first novel was so successful in the USA that it was adapted into a TV series on a famous platform in 2023.
"A dark force
On this visit to Saint-Barthélemy, Charmaine Wilkerson will be accompanied by Thibault de Montaigu. A cultural and literary journalist since 2003, he is the author of seven novels that have received both praise and awards. Les Lauriers verts in 2010 for "Les grands gestes la nuit", the Prix de Flore in 2020 for "La grâce" and, in 2024, the Prix Interallié for his latest work, "Cœur". This book has also been shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, the Prix Renaudot, the Prix du roman de l'Académie française and the Prix Jean Giono.
"Heart" is a story, or rather an investigation, into the life of a grandfather, Louis, a captain in the Hussars who was killed in a cavalry charge at the start of the First World War. A book written following a last wish expressed by the author's father. In his novel, Thibault de Montaigu delves into his own history and questions his heritage. I had no desire to embark on this investigation," says the author in an interview with L'Éventail last January. I knew almost nothing about the First World War. And yet, an obscure force compelled me to do it. It was as if this signet ring served as a witness to my family's memory. As if I had the power to resurrect the ghosts of this glorious hussar. In the end, this book was also the adventure that my father and I lived together during the two or three years we spent investigating. It was also an opportunity to recount all the difficulties I have in writing, and the back-and-forth I have with my father. In the end, it was a way, perhaps a roundabout way, of getting back to him. "
In addition to the literary encounter scheduled for Wednesday November 26 at 6.30pm (followed by a book signing), the two writers will visit Mireille Choisy's secondary school pupils on Thursday November 27 from 8am to noon.
