Amélie Nothomb has a daily ritual from which she does not deviate. What is the surprising habit of the Belgian novelist who releases a book every year?
At 59, Amélie Nothomb is one of the most popular French-speaking writers in the world. Author of 32 novels, she has become a must-have for the literary season by choosing to publish a work each year at the same time: the end of summer. A punctuality that the Belgian novelist owes to her many habits, which could easily be considered as OCD…
Amélie Nothomb, in “extreme self-control” : what she formally prohibits
The author adored by the French, for example, made it known that she always wrote at dawn, between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. precisely. Very first guest on Laurent Mariotte’s show, BoustifailleAmélie Nothomb has somewhat detailed this ritual. “What do you drink when you write in the morning?“, the journalist and culinary columnist quickly asked her around different dishes and a bottle of champagne, a guilty pleasure of the woman of letters.
“I have already tried writing with champagne, I must say that unfortunately it doesn’t work at all…”replied his guest straight away. “Because you need extreme self-control when you write, and one of the wonders of champagne is that it takes away that annoying part of self-control.”completed the one whose last novel, So much the betterwas published on August 20.
Amélie Nothomb never changes her habits: “In the morning I…”
And Amélie Nothomb continues: “So to write, I need to reach what I call dry drunkenness. Dry drunkenness I obtain thanks to very strong tea. So in the morning I only drink tea, and from midday, I only drink champagne”. Yes to champagne, but not before noon, then! “The intoxication of champagne is the best”she then declaimed, joined by the presenter of Small Balanced Dishesshort program from TF1: “And it is effervescent. It is not like the intoxication of wine which can sometimes take over, which weighs down.”
“I know champagne drunk very well, I am very regularly drunk on champagne”the author then assumed. This has never been “leaded” by champagne, her ultimate pleasure on which she spends almost all her money: “And I have never had any remorse, I have never said to myself: ‘I shouldn’t have anyway’. Every time, I say to myself: ‘I did the right thing!’”. An assumed passion!
