Service95 Book Club With Dua Lipa Jean-Baptiste Answers Your Questions
Feb 17, 2026
Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, French novelist best known for intense, lyrical fiction, answers reader questions. He discusses infusing melancholy into a thriller. He explains how to portray brutality without excess. He explores fate versus free will and whether characters can break inherited cycles. He also shares how he knows when a novel is finished and his literary influences.
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Melancholy As A Central Tone
- Jean-Baptiste Del Amo aims to infuse melancholy into his novels through language and tone.
- He wanted The Son of Man to be both a thriller and a contemplative, melancholic book.
Confronting Brutality With Honesty
- He confronts brutality because patriarchy and violence shape the world and literature must address them honestly.
- Representation depends on the approach and the writer's honesty about limits and fears.
Characters Trapped In Repetition
- Del Amo believes his characters have limited choices and are trapped in cycles shaped by repetition and violence.
- He suggests breaking cycles sometimes requires using the same tools that created them.
