It’s the story of a teenage martyr in a bituminous Paris, who finds his redemption in running away, skateboarding and friendship. And it’s a “ panting novel that we do not let go “, estimated the jury of the 4e Prize for readers of the city of Paris libraries for a first adult novel written by a French-speaking author. He therefore awards it to Asphalt (Editions Noir sur Blanc), by Matthieu Zaccagna, first-time novelist in his forties, producer of concerts at the Cité de la Musique-Philharmonie de Paris.
The vote of the jury, which brought together readers and librarians, was preceded by the votes of hundreds of readers on the City of Paris website. Their literary reviews were previously taken into account to build the selection of the five works in the running.
In 2021, they highlighted Laurent Petitmangin, for What you need at night (editions La Manufacture de livres). He has since published So Berlin.