Sorj Chalandon (born 16 May 1952 in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

) is a French writer and journalist.

Biography

Chalandon grew up in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

with his parents and brother. His father was intensely paranoid and violent, making his family life difficult. When Chalandon was ten years old, his grandfather revealed to him that his father had been a Nazi collaborator during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, contrary to the heroic stories his father had told him throughout his childhood. It was not until 2020 that he knew the true nature and extent of his father's collaboration, six years after his father's death. His memoir on this subject, ''Enfant de salaud,'' was shortlisted for the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

in 2021. At the age of 21, he became a cartoonist at ''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

.'' He worked as a journalist for the newspaper from 1973 until 2007, where, among other things, he covered events in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. In 1988 he received the Albert-Londres Prize for his articles on Northern Ireland and the

Klaus Barbie Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German operative of the SS and SD who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortured prisoners—primari ...

trial. Since his departure from ''Libération'', he has worked for the satirical-investigative newspaper ''

Le Canard enchaîné (; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism a ...

''. After a long career in journalism, he turned to literature; he wrote ''Le Petit Bonzi'' in 2005, thinking that it would be his first and last novel. However, he went on to write several others, many of which have received literary prizes. His second novel, ''Une promesse'' (2006), won the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

, and his 2011 novel '' Return to Killybegs'' won the

Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...

and was

shortlist A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

ed for the

Works

* ''Le Petit Bonzi'' (2005) * ''Une promesse'' (2006, Prix Médicis) * ''My Traitor'' (''Mon traître'', 2008) * ''La Légende de nos pères'' (2009) * '' Return to Killybegs'' (''Retour à Killybegs'', 2011, Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française) * ''The Fourth Wall'' (''Le Quatrième Mur'', Prix Goncourt des Lycéens 2013) * ''Profession du père'' (2015) * ''Le jour d'avant'' (2017) * ''Une joie féroce'' (2019) * ''Enfant de salaud'' (2021)

References

French journalists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French novelists Prix Médicis winners Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française winners Albert Londres Prize recipients Joseph Kessel Prize recipients Prix Jean Freustié winners Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners Writers from Tunis 1952 births Living people French male novelists 21st-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers {{France-journalist-stub