In Même pas mort, Bellovèse, son of Sacrovèse, grandson of Belinos, tells the story of his life to an Ionian hero. Exiled by his uncle, Ambigat, King of the Bituriges, after the Wild Boars' War which cost Bellovèse's father's life, who was himself King of the Turons, Bellovèse, his brother, Segovèse, and their mother, Dannissa, were forced to live at the far end of the Bituriges' lands. Years later, Bellovèse and Segovèse become pages to Sumarios, respected Gaulish warrior and Lord of Neriomagos, with whom they are sent to fight Ambigat's war against the Ambrones, a rival tribe. Embarking on a brutal and ruthless world, Bellovèse finds himself among the first to fall on the battlefield but, the thing is... he didn't die.
Being able to read a story that takes place in Gaul during the Iron Age, in a period known as the age of heroes (from 800 to 500 BCE), was simply fantastic. Especially when literature, TV, and cinema are saturated with stories revolving around American/British cultures so, when I discovered that a French author, a.k.a Jean-Philippe Jaworski, had written a historical fiction/fantasy story about the Gauls, I was totally sold and decided to read it. And by Cernunnos, this book is absolutely amazing!
The work of the author to immerse the reader within the Celtic culture, its society, and its history as well as his take on druidic customs were phenomenal. I could tell that he had done a lot of research, read and talked to historians, experts of the Celtic Iron Age and its mythology, to build such a complex, rich, and captivating world. In my opinion, this contributed to making me love the book even more as it felt authentic and real. The only negative aspect would be that the role of women in Celtic society was more important than what is suggested in Même pas mort and so, I was slightly disappointed that most female characters were reduced to bitter women or old and terrifying "sorceresses". (If you want to know more about the role of women in Celtic society, I invite you to read the works of expert historians such as Peter Berresford Ellis, Jean Markale, and Jean-Louis Brunaux).
Another important element to know about Jean-Philippe Jaworski's Même pas mort is its writing style. The author shows how gifted of a craftsman he is, especially when the physical and dreamlike worlds overlap but also when the past and the present collide provoking doubts within the reader as to the reality of certain events in Bellovèse's life.
I am looking forward to continue with the Rois du Monde series, and this time with the physical books (I listened to the audiobook on Audible, which was a first for me). I highly recommend you to read Même pas mort if you have a fascination for the Celtic culture, its society as well as its history and its myths.
Jarowski, Jean-Philippe. Même pas mort, Paris, Les moutons électriques, 2013.