An encounter with Alexandra Touchard, an emerging voice in contemporary literature
by Alexandra I. Mas
It was amidst the bustling atmosphere of the Cannes Film Festival that I first met Alexandra Touchard, a young woman with bright eyes and sharp insights about cinema. It took us only a couple of minutes to realize we had much to discuss. Her generous and knowledgeable writing had already delighted me in a small article on a Romanian film in competition that year. Naturally, when I heard about the release of her debut novel, my curiosity was piqued. Her discreet yet profound style weaves a backdrop where dreamlike elements intertwine with historical fiction. A touch of mysticism and sparkling whimsy takes us far, very far, into the history of humanity.
“The book opens with a letter from Chief Seattle to President Franklin Pierce, in response to the request to purchase Native American lands. This preface was crucial to me because it highlights the book’s main theme: a tribute to Native American peoples,” Alexandra shared when discussing her novel.
What was the initial inspiration behind this book?
Since I was young, I’ve felt deeply connected to the spirituality of Native American communities in North America, and I’ve always loved writing. It wasn’t until the lockdown, however, that the idea for this book truly took shape. The confinement we were all experiencing during the COVID pandemic pushed me to create a world where I could escape. Every day, I would go for a run, listening on repeat to the same song, Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime by The Korgis. The song reminded me of Native Americans, and while running, ideas would surface. I’d return home and write everything down in a notebook. Every day, I’d go for a run to find inspiration. Then, I moved to the United States for a year. By fate, I ended up at a university I hadn’t chosen, in the Hudson Valley, where the Mohicans once lived. For a year, I felt deeply connected to these people and understood why they loved these lands. During that time, I lived, loved, and experienced everything I wanted my characters to feel. When I returned to France, I wrote every day for six months until I finally completed the novel.
Did your age play a role in shaping the story?
Definitely. This novel is a coming-of-age story, one of a young woman who’s unsure of who she is. She decides to go to the United States in search of herself. There, she gets caught up in a grand adventure with a young man named Jared, and together they are accused of possessing an ancient artifact coveted by the American government for centuries.
I started writing the book when I was 20. At that age, I had the passion and the melancholy necessary to write my characters’ emotions, but I needed to live more, to gain life experience in order to believe in my own story. That’s why the novel wasn’t finished until I was 24. I think in that time, my writing style matured. Writing a novel so young can be intimidating, but I believe that during this phase of life, we still hold enough hope and creativity to write and create. In other words, we still retain a bit of our childhood soul.
How would you summarize your book in one key sentence?
If I had to sum up my novel in one sentence, I’d say: it’s the coming-of-age story of a young woman who believes she has choices, only to find that destiny always catches up with her.
Any message or thought for your readers?
I think this novel will resonate with many readers, of all ages, because it addresses a universal theme: the search for one’s true self. I believe the deeper theme – the spirituality of Native American cultures – creates an otherworldly and mystical atmosphere that will captivate readers who enjoy suspense and exploration.
About Alexandra Touchard
Born in 2000, she is a passionate fiction writer. With a master’s degree in modern literature, she spent a year in the United States, where her love for writing deepened, along with a keen interest in North American Indigenous communities. Upon returning to France at the age of 23, she completed her debut novel, The Dream of a Butterfly, a reflection of her transatlantic experiences and inspirations.
Book synopsis
Aurora, 21 years old and tired of the monotony of her life, decides to set off alone for the United States in search of adventure. In Brooklyn, she meets Jared, a French-American her age. Their lives are turned upside down when they are kidnapped and accused of possessing an artifact that the U.S. government has been searching for over centuries. With the help of a former secret agent and a professor obsessed with the mysterious object, Aurora and Jared embark on a dangerous quest to uncover the truth and retrieve the precious relic before the CIA can get to it.
The Dream of a Butterfly is both an adventure novel and a journey into the fantastic, exploring Aurora’s identity while paying homage to the Indigenous peoples of North America and their spirituality. It’s a tale where destiny and the ancient magic of the first humans converge, in a thrilling adventure filled with twists and turns.
Les Éditions Persée
