Curious Case of Madec
Macand
(NOT to be confused with Madeleine McCann!)
Entretien Arthur
Dreyfus/Spudgun – 09.01.2012
Team McCann must be
delighted with the ongoing saga being played out over at the LEVESON
inquiry set up after the debacle of News Internationals' HACKING
exploits.
Not least because,
despite the best efforts of Clarence Mitchell to purport otherwise,
there IS no evidence to support his previous assertions that either
his or his famous Clients, (Kate & Gerry McCann), 'phones may
have been hacked.
Notwithstanding, the
public inquiry, admittedly set up to "look at the practises and
ethics of the British Press", appears to be turning into some
bizarre McCann sideshow, where Journalists, Editors and Publishers
line up and get to apologise to the McCanns for their coverage of
their missing daughter.
Today, (9th January
2012), it was the turn of the Picture Editor for the Sun, John
Edwards. Edwards expressed "regret" for the "Media
scrum" that awaited them, (Kate & Gerry), when they returned
home shortly after the disappearance of their daughter in Portugal.
Whilst I agree that some
of the tactics employed by the Paps were unethical and invasive,
(especially concerning the McCanns OTHER children), I'm at a LOSS as
to understand exactly how Leveson expected any newspaper to behave
towards a couple that had FLED Portugal, ( after they were made
ARGUIDOS, potentially complicit in the disappearance of their
daughter), a mere 48 hours after publicly declaring that they would
"NEVER leave Portugal without Madeleine".
But then, I shall forever
be bemused as to why the most Media Savvy couple on the planet,
represented by a plethora of Media specialists, Publicists and
exorbitant Lawyers, who have amassed a veritable FORTUNE from the
British Press by way of donations masquerading as "settlements",
book serialisation payments, not to mention a huge public support
swayed by the MILLIONS of contrived column inches by way of their
Press Releases and garbled statements; would ever DARE to partake in
an inquiry designed to lambast or derogate the Press!!
Not so much biting the
hand that feeds but moreover taking off the whole shoulder!
How the McCanns and their
entourage react to ANOTHER publication that took place on the other
side of the Channel Tunnel recently remains to be seen.
'Belle Famille', or
'Beautiful Family', tells the tale of Madec Macend, a young boy with
2 other siblings and parents who are Doctors, who seemingly
disappears whilst on a holiday whilst his parents are out dining.
The parents become celebrities after the child's Uncle orchestrates a global press campaign and the story is closely followed by those in
"high places". Even the pope becomes involved
when...
Hang on ?
When mention of this tale
started circulating on the Internet this week I strongly suspected a
hoax. A spoof. A mischievous prank. Even the name, 'Madec Macand' is
unequivocally designed to evoke instant comparisons!
To satisfy myself of the
books authenticity, I looked a little further.
Arthur Dreyfus, a
French/Swiss National, is a young writer who studied at the renowned
Institut d'études politiques de Paris, whose first novel, 'La
Synthèse du camphre' an interwoven tale of young love and the
author's Grandfather who was a WW2 Concentration Camp survivor,
received great critical acclaim in France and is currently the
subject of plans for its adaptation into Cinema.
His second book, however,
looks set to be an even greater sensation, where he is currently due
to appear on a premiere French culture Television program to discuss
it.
When I contacted him, he
was quick to confirm that the book was "inspired" by the
case of Madeleine McCann.
AD : It starts in
Normandy with a French family going on holidays in Italy. The
parents, who are Medical Doctors, have three children – among them
Madec, a strange and discreet boy. When the family arrives in Italy,
and after many strange happenings provoked by Madec, the little boy
has an accident in the kitchen, while his parents are having dinner
with their friends in a nearby restaurant.
When the mother comes
back, she finds her son dead. Almost instinctively, she hides the
body. As if it had never happened. From there, starts a long path,
full of lies, pain, comedy, media, and cowardice. I wanted to write
both about the relationship between (male) children and their
mothers, and the relationship between reality and the media at the
time of Internet.
Astonishingly, Arthur
purports not to have done any extensive research or investigation
into the McCann case :
AD : I just wanted to
deal with what I had read and heard from the press. Once again, I am
not an investigator. Neither an historian. Investigation files are
not my passion. Precisely, the (French) media talked so much about
Maddie that I didn’t need to carry on an extensive research to
learn the basics about the case"
I press him and ask him
if the book is based on any beliefs or instincts that he has.
AD : I have obviously no
general thoughts or interpretations about the case; if so I would not
have written this book. I am a novelist, not a Police Inspector,
thus, I can only follow what my imagination leads me to create.
Of course, I was
surprised by many details of the affair (the scale of the media
campaign, the fact that the parents were suspected months after, the
very faces of the McCanns, etc.) These details just filled me with
the desire to go further and from that “live novel” to invent my
own one...My belief does not count, given the fact that I’m writing
fiction. Of course, the hypothesis that the parents could be guilty
is more romanesque than the other, but this does not mean that I am
in any way 100% sure about anything.
I ask him how he would
respond to those who might criticise him for writing something that
is critical or accusatory about a couple whose daughter is missing?
He responds:
AD : I would say the
truth : this is a fictional work.
I ask him if he is aware
that the McCanns have undertaken a number of legal actions against
people who have written anything which contrasts with the McCanns
insistence that Madeleine was abducted, including Criminal Profiler
Pat Brown and former Portuguese Police chief Goncalo Amaral, as well
as Internet bloggers and Forum subscribers.
AD : I am aware of that.
That is also why I added a prologue making things really clear for
the reader before he starts discovering the novel and its characters.
I ask him if he is
concerned whether the McCanns may seek to litigate against him
regarding his book.
AD : Wait and see.
Gallimard is an old and well-established publishing house in France
(editor of Proust, Gide, or Aragon). Obviously, I did not received a
huge amount of money to write this book. It is just an amazing story
that inspired me. Never before has a vanished child so moved the
world to that extent. The absence of the child took more space than
her presence. I also wanted to study the vanity of modern media, and
the perfect convicts it gives birth to, like paedophiles.
Finally, I ask whether
the book will be translated into English.
AD : I would be delighted
were it to be translated into English, a language that I love, but
the editorial system makes it that the demand must come from the
foreign editor itself. That is, it will be translated into English
when an English editor will contact Gallimard to buy the translation
rights of the book. I also know that Anglo-Saxon people very seldom
read French literature and that it is thus difficult for a French
author to be translated into English.
I hope that the curiosity
about this (British) affair and the desire of the English readers
will speed up the process".
I rather feel that the
McCanns hope not.
