‘Artists are vampires.’
 

Posted on 9.10.2025

Raphaël Quenard, in writer mode, had just finished filming Michael Mann's remake of Leaving the Lumière Factories and sat down to talk about his book Clamser à Tataouine.

© Jean-Luc Mège Photography

EARLY STAGES

I was writing on my computer with no intention of publishing it. Then I procrastinated until Alix Penent, my wonderful editor at Flammarion, told me, It’ll be released on 14 May!' And that's when I realised that I'd never mentioned it to my mother!

‘I’

There are a few very autobiographical elements, found fragmented in the book, especially in terms of the region where the protagonist comes from, and the fact that he has a brother and a sister. I also drew on certain experiences that were told  to me. I used the first person to make the story much more immersive. And my character has no name; he’s  a spectre, a ghost, a blanket of mist that spreads and contaminates others with his despair.

INSPIRATION

Philip Roth and Charles Bukowski are figures I adore... Artists are vampires, they draw inspiration from everywhere, especially everyday life. I drew inspiration from my mother, my sister or my friends... 

LIMITS

The truth is that I was obliged to admit that some sentences had to be deleted. Writing is like football: it requires very little starting material – a sheet of paper, a pen, a thought... the feeling of freedom is overwhelming! 

HEROES 

Writing about a ‘hero’ or main character is an intimate process; you probe the depths of a person's psychology, which in this case is unhealthy. My protagonist accumulates transgressions, but everyone has that within them. The tiniest thing can tip us over the edge into committing the most unspeakable monstrosities, but our brains repress that, which is reassuring. And despite the horrors the hero is guilty of, there are sometimes delightful and disconcerting digressions, and moments of empathy towards him.

Virginie Apiou

© Jean-Luc Mège Photography