Mathias Énard travels down the Sèvre by canoe. As he follows the river, memories surface, evoking the history of the Balkans. Deeply sensitive, the award-winning author also reflects moments that have marked his life.
Born in 1972, MATHIAS ÉNARD studied Persian and Arabic and spent extended periods of time in the Middle East. He has published all his novels with Actes Sud, including Zone (2008, Prix Décembre, Prix du Livre Inter 2009, Prix Initiales), Tell Them About Battles, Kings, and Elephants (2010, Prix Goncourt des lycéens), and Compass (2015, Prix Goncourt). The first volume of Mélancolie des confins was published in 2024. In Hôtel Balkan (2026), he embarks on a canoe trip down the Sèvre Niortaise, the river of his childhood. The author then draws upon memories of the rivers that have shaped his life as well as the broader history of the Balkans. A scholarly and sensitive journey that takes us along the waters of the Danube and the Isonzo, weaving together historical references, travel memories, and literary allusions ranging from Proust to Danilo Kiš, via Sontag and Ungaretti. At the heart of the narrative is the figure of Sara, a youthful love he met in the early 1990s in Sarajevo, whose memory haunts the writer.
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