While the 521 novels of the literary season arrive on bookstore tables, it is difficult not to note a strong trend: breaking the monotony, more and more covers are illustrated. The front door of Confusion, the third volume of The Saga of Cazalet (The Round Table), which appeared in March and featured prominently in the summer’s “best sales” department, was signed by a precursor in the illustration of the covers: Mathieu Persan. He also signed all those of the dynastic series of the British Elizabeth Jane Howard (including volume 4, New start, will be released on October 14), a success as all publishers dream of, with 260,000 copies sold.
For five years, this 42-year-old mathematician has become the darling of the publishing world. His literary fame has irrigated even pop culture: he signed a poster for Benjamin Biolay’s album, Grand Prize. He is also working on a TV series musical comedy project, produced by François Busnel. He imagined the story (an employee who understands that his job is useless), the scenography and the concept, halfway between theater, cinema and concert.
“I suffered from morning to night in absurd jobs. »Mathieu Persan
A success story which had started badly for this son of maths teachers who once dreamed of being a musician but resigned himself to office life. “I suffered from morning to night in absurd jobs, he recounts. I first did reporting programs on databases, then operational risk management in a bank. Bullshit from A to Z. ”
It is in his spare time, at work, that the geek with the air of a tidy boy, round glasses and face, sparkling eyes and warm smile that hide an anxious nature, imagine this musical “ very black ” on the absurdity of the world of work. Because he adores Art Deco and has swallowed the complete filmographies of Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, he places his story in 1930s New York. “It was around the time of the first iPads, and a friend told me I should make an illustrated story that I would also compose the music for. “
As a good scientist, Mathieu Persan then began to study perspective and the art of proportions, learned to use Photoshop and Illustrator software through tutorials on the Internet. Almost by chance, he concedes, his retro, sarcastic and elegant images end up on the front page of the cultural magazine. Gonzai, then on the cover of several editions of Rue Fromentin.
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