Raphaël Quenard surprises with a shock novel under a pseudonym

On May 14, Raphaël Quenard will publish his first novel, but not under his real name. A literary project as puzzling as it is promising.

Clamser in Tataouine: a disturbing first book by “Pierrot Tchitch

Raphaël Quenard, the rising star of French cinema, is adding a new string to his bow. After shining in Chien de la casse – a role which won him the César for Best New Male Actor in 2024 – the 33-year-old actor is trying his hand at writing. And he doesn’t do things by halves: for his very first novel, he adopts the pseudonym Pierrot Tchitch, a name as evocative as the book’s main character.

Entitled Clamser à Tataouine, the novel is billed as a “chilling confession”. Pierrot, a disillusioned outsider, misses his suicide… before embarking on a murderous spiral against women. A brutal, disturbing 180-page tale, halfway between psychological thriller and literary provocation. Publisher Flammarion even calls it a “snuff novel”, echoing the controversial snuff film genre.

With an electric style, Quenard explores the shadow of a man at odds, in a narrative as unsettling as it is literary. The excerpt unveiled by Flammarion sets the tone: “Never, oh never, will my actions have married my convictions…”.

A wealth of news for an unclassifiable artist

If writing tempts him, cinema never leaves him. Currently starring in L’Attachement, with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Quenard is multiplying his projects. In 2027, he will play Johnny Hallyday in a biopic directed by Cédric Jimenez. A delicate role, endorsed by Laëtitia Hallyday herself, which should definitively establish his status as an actor not to be missed.

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