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PORTRAIT: BERLUGANE, A LITERARY JOURNEY BETWEEN MEMORY AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
BERLUGANE, A LITERARY JOURNEY BETWEEN MEMORY AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
With Berlugane, Marion Lafage takes us for a walk through memories, reality and tenderness. These moments cradled in Mediterranean light. Published in February 2025 by Books on Demand, this book is an ode to childhood, the sea and the places that shape us, even after years of absence. A must-read Proust madeleine.
Originally from the French Riviera, the author returns to Beaulieu-sur-Mer to rediscover this corner of paradise through her adult eyes. But this return is more than just a journey: it's a plunge into the past, a play of mirrors between what has been and what remains.
From the very first pages, Berlugane draws us into her immersive, sensory writing. The landscapes come to life, the sea sparkles, the air smells of salt and warmth. We let ourselves be carried away by this fluid, poetic and tender prose, which blends memories and the present like waves licking the shore.
The title, Berlugane, evokes a place on the border between the real and the remembered, a space that seems to exist between dream and reality. This bewitching, peaceful atmosphere is reinforced by the way the author combines Mediterranean mythology with personal reminiscences.
Although Berlugane is inspired by her own story, Marion Lafage has succeeded in bringing a universal text to life. Who hasn't felt a pinch in the heart when revisiting a place dear to their childhood? Who hasn't had that strange feeling that everything has changed... that doubt... Maybe it's us who've changed?
Through her meditative wanderings, the author invites us to reflect on the passage of time, our roots and the ways in which places mark our lives.
Marion Lafage is no novice. She now runs writing workshops in the Embrunais region and has already published several collections of poetry (Par chemins et calames in 2022 and Un mixologiste en montgolfière in 2023). Her style is always sensitive and lyrical, and Berlugane is no exception.
She handles words with finesse, creating a veritable symphony of images and emotions. Her love of literature shines through on every page, and she proves once again that writing can be a powerful means of transmission and sharing.
Berlugane is not a novel to be devoured in one sitting. It's a book to be savored slowly, like a seaside walk or a sunset over the Mediterranean. It invites contemplation, dreaming and gentleness.
If you like poetic texts, memoirs and Mediterranean atmospheres, then this is the book for you. With Berlugane, Marion offers us a suspended moment, a bubble outside time where we let ourselves be carried away by the beauty of words and memories.... I suggest you enjoy it with a cocktail on the beach in the summer twilight.
