French philospher Edgar Morin publishes novel at the the age of 102

The 102-year-old French philosopher Edgar Morin has published an autobiographical novel, originally written in 1946, after revising it and making it available to the public on June 5th.

L'année a perdu son printemps (The Year Lost its Spring) was published by Paris-based publishing house Denoël, and "sheds light on the psychological, intellectual, and political construction of one of the greatest thinkers of our time," according to the publisher in its presentation of the book.

Edgar Morin initially wrote the story when he was only 25 years old, describing the life of protagonist Albert Mercier, with whom Morin shares many similarities.

"I didn't show it to anyone," he writes the author in the preface. "I knew I was intelligent enough to work in the the field of social sciences, but wasn't sure about my talent as a writer. Moreover, I didn't want to hurt or upset my parents."

For a long time, Morin thought that he had lost the manuscript, but decades later incomplete drafts and typewritten pages were found in his archives, and subsequently given to the Institute for Contemporary Publishing Archives (Imec) in 2001.

Second novel

Edgar Morin and his editor then worked to reconstruct coherence and missing passages. "I began to love this novel, including its writing," recounts the author.

Morin was bor Edgar Nahoum in Paris, in 1921. He studied history, geography, and law at the University of Paris.

He will then be 103 years old.

(With newswires)

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