King: A Street Story, novel by John Berger, first edition in 1999. Translated in French by Katya Berger Andreadakis for Éditions L’Olivier (1999).
A furious homage to the homeless and a lyrical meditation on language and experience. You will be led to a place you haven’t been, from where few stories come. You will be led by King, a dog (or is he?) to a wasteland beside the motorway called Saint Valery.
« What we agree about is that sleep is best. »
« A bark is a voice which breaks out of a bottle saying: I’m here. The bottle is silence. The silence broken, the bark announces: I’m here. »
