to Elsa, for her trust and patience
to Honorine, for her wisdom and international flair
to Maïté, for her support and giving up her holidays
to Yann, for his close reading
to Helen, for her fine and subtle translation
to Patrick, for his careful rereading
to Louisa, Penny, and the whole Profile team for enabling this French raft to cross the Channel with relative ease
to Alexis, for having told me about François Roustang and Alexander Grothendieck
to Christophe, for having introduced me to Le travail intellectuel
to André, for having introduced me to Deleuze while playing tennis
to Hubert, for having made me take Alain seriously while drinking at L’Écritoire
to Jean-Henri, for his unfailing affection
to Jean, for having spoken to me of his friendship with Bachelard and offered me his own
to Vanessa, for having got her bac without aiming for it
to Gilles and Françoise, for shared pleasure and retsina
to Miltos and Irini, for hospitality and the lunar eclipse
to Yorgos, for grapes, tomatoes, and figs from his garden on Naxos
to Michaelis, for grilled grouper in Syros
to Aris, for the conversation about wine on Tinos
to Alain Passard, for a happy Christmas at L’Arpège
to my parents, for their love
to my children, for their vitality
to Laura, for the look in her eyes and everything else