The superb graphics of Editions La Baconnière compose an intriguing setting for Alain Freudiger’s new story: on the cover, we see a man on skis, his shoulders hunched, the air of a bird, his arms like wings spread … This flying man is Matti Nykänen (1963-2019), a 1980s ski jump prodigy, quadruple Olympic champion, the one who could fly 191 meters in the air before touching up the snow… The Albatross, the poem by Baudelaire (1859) evoking the cruel fall of these graceful and noble “winged travelers” who turn out to be so “clumsy and ashamed” once back on earth.
Personal testimonial
Alain Freudiger delivers a personal testimony of the former hero of his childhood, “no biography, no novel, rather a portrait”, nourished by his own memories of spectator and his knowledge of Finnish. Matti Nykänen was said to have the face of an angel; he was crowned the best ski jumper of all time.
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