The Relic
Jean-Louis Marteil
Published Friday 15 June 2018
All the versions of this article: [English] [français]
At the eve of the 12th century, three monks were sent in search of a relic that could save their abbey from ruin.
An inflexible and temperamental priest, an epic night of drunkenness, a furious herbalist and master of hypocrisy, wandering bones and impossible welders, pathetic thieves and a devouring dog, tempting beauty and a few states of mind further on, the three monks will have experienced a crazy and fearsome pilgrimage, pursued by the mysteries of faith.
Necessity being the law, men of the Church do not renounce to anything (not even God) in order to benefit from the blessings of saints whose behavior and character are often unpredictable...
In the vein of the best picaresque novels, traversed by a wind of light madness, underpinned by a profoundly humanist discourse, this story constitutes an initiatory and comical wander through the imagination of the Middle Ages. There is, throughout these pages, a real jubilation in following the bumpy road of endearing and so humane characters.
Author: Jean-Louis Marteil is a writer and literary director.
Genre: Literary fiction
Number of pages: 280
Keywords: Middle Ages – Monks – Journey – Humor
Audience: adult
Right Sold abroad: /
