Philippe Besson is a French novelist, playwright, and screenwriter best known for his novels, which explore themes of love, identity, and class. His works include In the Absence of Men (2001), which won him the Emmanuel-Roblès Prize, and Lie with Me (2017), a French bestseller that won the Maisons de la Presse Prize. Besson's novels have been translated into over twenty languages, and several have been the subject of film and theatre adaptations.
Philippe Besson was born in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire in the Charente. He grew up in a small town in the Charente, where his childhood was marked by isolation and ridicule from his peers. "I was made fun of for my looks and mannerisms," he recalls, reflecting on the challenges of growing up differently.
His father was a teacher, and his mother worked as a notary. These humble beginnings shaped much of his later work, particularly his exploration of class dynamics and societal expectations. During his final year at school, Besson fell in love with a local boy, a relationship they had to keep secret. This experience later influenced his writing, particularly in Lie with Me.
He went on to study at the École supérieure de commerce de Rouen (now Neoma Business School) but did not immediately pursue a literary career. It wasn't until 1999 that Besson, a law graduate, felt compelled to write his first novel, In the Absence of Men, after reading about the experiences of soldiers during the First World War. This debut novel was a critical success, winning the prestigious Emmanuel Roblès Prize and setting the stage for a prolific writing career.
One of Besson's most acclaimed works is Lie with Me (2017), published in French as Arrête avec tes mensonges. The novel became a bestseller in France. It is a semi-autobiographical story about a secret love affair between two teenage boys in a small French town in the 1980s.
"It is a story I had to tell," Besson said in an interview. The narrator, Philippe, is a successful writer who remembers his first love, a farmer's son named Thomas Andrieu.
Besson's prose in Lie with Me is sparse and direct, capturing the raw emotions of adolescence. The novel's depiction of class divisions is particularly poignant as Philippe, the son of a schoolteacher, falls in love with Thomas, whose family works on a small farm. The relationship, hidden from the world, is filled with passion and sorrow as Thomas refuses to acknowledge Philippe publicly. Besson's ability to convey the tension between desire and social expectations amplifies the story's emotional impact.
Lie with Me won several awards, including the Maisons de la Presse Prize, and was made into a film in 2022.
Photo credit: Maxime Reychman
