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Firecrackers in the Attic — Les feux d’artifice t’appelent, in French — is an artist book that focuses on the awakening of homosexual desire during adolescence, based on Alain-Fournier’s novel Le Grand Meaulnes. The latter is a French coming-of-age tale that follows a trio of young protagonists as they reach adulthood: Augustin Meaulnes, the eternal youth, François Seurel, the nostalgic boy, and Frantz de Galais, the whimsically romantic. Even though their interactions are mainly described as forms of admiration, it seems inevitable — in the light of a contemporary re-reading of Fournier’s work — that we should see in them a footprint of romantic longing.
This editorial project sheds light on the different layers of homoerotic subtext suggested by the French novelist. The first chapter offers a visual rendition of an intimate moment shared by the narrator and the title character. Its layout is inspired by French Bon Points — small cards given to students in primary schools in the olden days, as rewards for one’s correct answer to a teacher's question. The book’s second section explores the first encounter between Augustin and Frantz de Galais, at the heart of a mysterious domain. This moment is presented through the lens of a fictional vintage photo album.
This editorial project sheds light on the different layers of homoerotic subtext suggested by the French novelist. The first chapter offers a visual rendition of an intimate moment shared by the narrator and the title character. Its layout is inspired by French Bon Points — small cards given to students in primary schools in the olden days, as rewards for one’s correct answer to a teacher's question. The book’s second section explores the first encounter between Augustin and Frantz de Galais, at the heart of a mysterious domain. This moment is presented through the lens of a fictional vintage photo album.
In the novel, Meaulnes is described as a bold adventurer, drawn to the wilderness. His rebellious nature strikes a chord with François, who sees him as an ideal initiator. The hero is enterprising from the outset and immediately sets off to explore the resources of his new home (François’ family home), quickly finding a box of old firecrackers in the attic, that he then goes on to light up in the backyard. This light show symbolizes François’s entry into an extraordinary life. The narrator’s sensitive and euphoric description of this memory is similar to that of an experience of arousal, motivating self-discovery and heralding the first steps towards maturity. Augustin has the beauty of someone who has been to forbidden, foreign lands, thus becoming a gateway our narrator passes through to a life that burns with fleeting flashes, far removed from the banalities of an austere routine.
The same phenomenon can be witnessed later on, as it is Meaulnes’ turn to discover the mysterious youth inhabiting an enchanted castle in the forest. Scarcely perceived through a flickering candlelight, Frantz de Galais is introduced as a figure of beauty and youth, by whom Meaulnes is immediately infatuated. Their first encounter, in which only Meaulnes gets a sight of Frantz, and not the other way around, resembles a classic manifestation of love at first sight.
The same phenomenon can be witnessed later on, as it is Meaulnes’ turn to discover the mysterious youth inhabiting an enchanted castle in the forest. Scarcely perceived through a flickering candlelight, Frantz de Galais is introduced as a figure of beauty and youth, by whom Meaulnes is immediately infatuated. Their first encounter, in which only Meaulnes gets a sight of Frantz, and not the other way around, resembles a classic manifestation of love at first sight.
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ALL ARTWORKS ARE ORIGINAL CREATIONS.
© 2025 JOÃO DELFIM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL ARTWORKS ARE ORIGINAL CREATIONS.
© 2025 JOÃO DELFIM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.