Questionnaire #2 by Marcel Proust

What's your main character trait?

Sincerity.

The good trait you seek in a man?

The ability to offer his unconditional friendship.

And in a woman?

Gentle mischief (the exact meaning would be that of French espièglerie).

Your biggest flaw?

A very slight mithomany. Or the tendency to put myself on front stage. But both have been receding a lot these past years.

Your favorite occupation?

Cuddle my sweetheart (by far!).

Your ideal of happiness?

Love and be loved by my wife and kids, live in a cool house that is paid for, and have a job that is also a pleasure.

What would your worst sorrow be?

Survive my children.

What would you like to be?

Myself. And a good father.

The country where you'd like to live?

Eventually, I don't know. A few years from now, I feel like spending a couple years in Sydney, then maybe in England.

Your favorite color?

Red.

The flower you love?

Roses. The Red Berlin variety, specifically.

Your favorite bird?

Tough one. I'd say the hawk.

Your favorite prose authors?

Orson Scott Card, Neal Stephenson, Jules Verne, Dan Simmons…

Your favorite poets?

Baudelaire, Apollinaire, Rimbaud.

Your favorite fictional male heroes?

Cyrano de Bergerac, Jack Ryan, Largo Wynch, Ender Wiggin, Alvin Maker, Thorgal.

Your favorite fictional female heroes?

Gally/Yoko (Gunnm) and Nävis (Sillage). No others come to my mind.

Your favorite composers?

Mozart, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Gounod… In the contemporary, I dig Craig Armstrong.

Your favorite painters?

Van Gogh, Pissaro, Rembrandt.

Your heroes in real life?

I don't think I have any. I admire a few people a lot, but heroes?

Your historical female heroes?

Joan of Arc.

Your favorite names?

Allan, Marion, Manon, Albane (the final e is mute), Tasneem… And Christophe :-)

What do you despise most?

Hypocrisy, easy fatalism and mass blindness.

What traits do you despise most?

Lack of ambition and/or audacity, hypocrisy (again…) and abuse of trust.

Your most esteemed military event?

In History, my modest knowledge does not provide me with something truly praiseworthy. I would be highly impressed and admirative of a war victory with not a single civilian death. In my way of thinking, while war remains our worst invention, it became truly abject the day it ceased to involve only professional soldiers.

The gift of nature you'd like to have?

An absolute musical ear.

How would you like to die?

Peacefully.

What is your present state of mind?

Introspective.

What faults do you most easily forgive?

Small lies aiming to preserve a nice surprise. And faults resulting of children's natural curiosity.

Your motto?

I don't really have any. If I had, it would be along the lines of “Do your best and fuck the rest,” I guess.