Abstract
After recalling the ambiguous powers of literature - which can arouse the emotions as well as spread evil - Pierre Assouline looks back at how he reads the books he receives in the summer for the Académie Goncourt prize. First, he describes how he sorts through the works, how he selects them and what he does with the remaining books. He then goes on to describe how he approaches the first time: reading the paratext (presence or absence of dialogue, typography used, epigraphs, dedication, bibliography) gives him an initial idea of the book's quality. Pierre Assouline insists on desire as a condition for writing, and on reading as a personal pleasure. He also describes the material conditions under which he works, before explaining why certain great books are not rewarded by the Prix Goncourt : books on the social sciences, which fall outside the prize's selection criteria, or those that have already won a prize, in which case the award of a new prize to the same author constitutes a loss for booksellers.
