Is it possible to know anything, philosophers have pondered for centuries. In the case of two heavyweight French thinkers, the question is more: is it possible to know too much? reports The Guardian.
A respected French philosopher has publicly disowned his equally famous philosopher son, not for stealing his girlfriend, but for writing a book he claims has left him “heartbroken” and loved ones “drowning in a sea of ingratitude”.
Jean-Paul Enthoven, 71, one-time partner of the singer, supermodel and former first lady Carla Bruni before she left him for his son Raphaël, has reacted angrily to the publication of the latter’s autobiographical novel entitled Le Temps gagné (Time Saved).
“I don’t like people’s private lives to be unpacked like this in public … why should I and my loved ones be subjected to this treatment based on prying eyes and denigration. Does someone have the right to tear off the masks that each of us may have needed during our lives without our consent and for their own pleasure,” Enthoven senior told Le Figaro newspaper. “As Camus, who my son is so fond of quoting, said: ‘A man should restrain himself’.”
The family row between the two high-profile figures is the scandal of La rentrée – the grand return to normal life in France after the long summer holidays and the start of the literary season when books are released.
The glossy magazine Gala described Le Temps gagné as “brilliant … like a bullet in the skull”, saying the author has “recounted the hell of his childhood and his long emancipation from being ‘the son of’…”