大象传媒

French novelist, playwright and film-maker David Foenkinos has written 18 novels, which have been translated into more than 40 languages. His latest book, Second Best, imagines the life of Martin HIll, a 10-year-old British boy, who makes it to the final two actors in a casting process to play Harry Potter in the film franchise. The other actor, Daniel Radcliffe, gets the role of a lifetime and Martin is devastated.

David tells Nikki Bedi what made him focus on how the other boy felt and what made him write about his imagined life.

"We all fail, we have all difficulties. Sometimes we are not chosen, we are not loved, but this character will have constantly the life he could have had in front of his eyes, which is a really exciting subject," says David.

"When I see the Oscars, or even a football game, I always think about the loser," says David, adding, "This is a book about how you deal with failure, how you deal with the moment your are rejected and we [are] all rejected at one point."

(Photo: David Foenkinos attends the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros. Credit: Stephane Cardinale/Getty Images)

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