Une « Une quête de l’Autre en soi » dans Boussole de Mathias ÉNARD

Abstract

Although current events present us with an Orient in perpetual turmoil, Mathias Enard, in his erudite novel Compass, offers an optimistic vision by recalling the intellectual richness of the Oriental world that once fascinated Westerners. His compass carries us on a flying carpet toward the East, where he lived for about a decade, and overwhelms us with references. Deeply passionate about the region and its culture, his mind drifts between Istanbul, Damascus, and Tehran, before returning to Vienna. He draws us into an intoxicating journey through these Eastern lands—into the history of literature, the arts, and music. This novel invites the Western reader to reflect on the distorted depictions of the Orient, to explore the beauties of this world and its contribution to universal civilization, and to admire the subtle, yet enduring, ties between these two worlds.