For the research for his novel The Truth about Marie, he even got on a horse for the first time in his life; for the heart attack, which is also described in the book, he did not want to go so far as to make it a matter of self-experiment, writes Bernard Pivot, France's Pope of Literature, in his enthusiastic criticism of this new book by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, which was published in March on the occasion of his current exhibition in the Louvre in Paris. Toussaint: La Main et le Regard - Livre/Louvre features lucid essays on literature, reading, and one's own writing, a charming homage to literature, brilliant texts, and anecdotal-entertaining miniatures that speak of great literature with great intimate knowledge and expertise. How casual, entertaining, and yet so incredibly astute, Toussaint leads the reader into his literary universe, narrated.