Be Careful Who You Write About, Part One

By Carmen 

When French author Pierre Jourde decided to write a fictionalized account of his local village, he hardly expected that the town would retaliate by beating him up. But as the Independent reports, that’s exactly what happened, as five residents of one rural idyll in the mountainous Auvergne region, upset at his portrayal, were found guilty in court yesterday of assaulting him.

The tale began in 2003 when Jourde’s novel, PAYS PERDU (LOST LAND) swept on to the book shelves and drew critical acclaim. The book recounted the day-to-day life in the farming village of Lussaud, where the author’s father was born, but in none-too-flattering terms. It painted a vivid picture of the Sunday church service, where “hymns are interpreted without pleasure by people without importance, gently moving their lips”. It denounced the village’s widespread alcoholism and revealed the 1960s affair between two neighbors, who have since returned to their spouses and whose children have married each other.

Changing the names, in other words, wasn’t enough, and last July, as the writer and his family arrived for their summer retreat, ominous signs, chanting threats and insults turned to outright assault. A stone smashed Jourde’s car window, injuring a 15-month-old baby. Jourde hit back at the ringleader, a 72-year-old man. And now a magistrate has agreed with Jourde’s anger over not being able to have the creative freedom he needs. “All Pierre Jourde has done is to describe the solitude, the pain, the promiscuity,” said the magistrate, adding that there was also a lot of love and intimacy portrayed in the pages.