The author is at home in the picaresque, and has an ironic affection for sickly, solitary individuals. — Libération

Flamboyant ! — Les Inrockuptibles

Bonnefoy stands out for both his style and his storytelling skills, offering a thousand detours via portraits of a rogues’ gallery of secondary characters. — Les Echos

Bonnefoy never gives up on casting an enchanting spell over real life. — Le Monde des Livres

Miguel Bonnefoy has built a poignant, epic tale in a style that works wonders. — Le Figaro Magazine

Some rising stars of French literature that have already become accustomed to winning major prizes are impossible to ignore. The sparkling Miguel Bonnefoy is one of them. — L’Express.fr

The extraordinary life of Augustin Mouchot, a locksmith’s son and an obscure math teacher who discovered solar energy back in the mid-19th century.

The machine Mouchot built, nicknamed Octave, attracted Napoleon III’s attention. Presented at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris, among other extraordinary achievements, it was able to produce a block of ice using solar power alone, for the first time in history.

But the advent of the age of coal soon brought down Mouchot’s project, which was seen as too costly. After all sorts of adventures, he made one last attempt to revive interest in his invention by “making the desert bloom” under the Algerian sun.

With the delightful eloquence he’s known for, Miguel Bonnefoy’s latest novel – inspired by a true story – offers a stunning portrait of a forgotten genius.