Who is Faber? Where did he come from? What goes on in his head? In this fascinating novel, with characters based on true people, Tristan Garcia tells of a mysterious young man with unlikely charisma. Those who meet Faber either worship or fear him. At age ten he goes to live with a foster family in the dormant town of Mornay. Here, Faber meets Madeleine and Basile, and the three children develop a close friendship. Faber will have his revenge on anyone who hurts Basile, Madeleine, or any underdog for that matter. The older and stronger he gets, the more vehement his revenge becomes. In high school Faber takes an interest in politics and sets out to create an autonomous community with some of his followers, somewhere in the mountains. Ten years have passed when Madeleine sets out to find him there. She wants to take Faber back to Mornay, but that may not be such a great idea…

Tristan Garcia masterfully speaks through a variety of voices. The reader of this novel is immersed in the main characters’ perception of the world and their experience of events. The range of voices Garcia taps into are each so powerful that it is hard for the reader to determine who to trust and what really happened. And who knows… Maybe it is impossible to know who Faber really is. Maybe the rich spectrum of perceptions rendered in this book is the only truth we will ever have about the impalpable Faber, a character who ensnares both the people around him and the readers of this novel.

The complete translation of Faber. Le destructeurwill be published in 2015 at Leesmagazijn.

Tristan Garcia, Faber © Gallimard, 2013