David Foenkinos, French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker, recently stayed at Heritage Le Telfair. His return to Mauritius, a place he hadn’t seen in forty years, was filled with emotion and childhood memories. In this exchange, he shares his impressions of the island’s beauty, its human richness, and the inspiration he drew from his time there.
What does this return to Mauritius mean to you?
“It’s extremely emotional, and even quite unsettling, because my father used to work in Mauritius when I was a child. So I came here many, many times when I was about 7 or 8 years old, in the early 1980s. I always had the dream, the fantasy, of coming back to Mauritius.
My father was in charge of the airport control tower. He lived here, and since my mother worked in France and we didn’t have to pay for flights, we visited him regularly.
So I experienced Mauritius in the 80s. He had lots of Mauritian colleagues, a house… We really saw Mauritian life. It left a deep impression on me. For a little Parisian boy, discovering life in Mauritius was very powerful.
And I had never returned.
I was invited to give talks at a literary event in Réunion, for a festival. I accepted the invitation thinking: this is my chance to return to Mauritius.
That’s how it happened. It’s my comeback after 40 years.”
How was your stay at Heritage Le Telfair?
“I’m here with my daughter, so we’re clearly on holiday.
We had several experiences, including an excursion to the Bel Ombre Nature Reserve. It was very powerful—seeing wild nature, the beauty of the landscapes.”
Does the island inspire your writing?
“Definitely, it’s an inspiring island. Even just driving from the airport and crossing the island, you see temples, chapels… This mix of cultures, this richness, is very powerful.
I wondered whether what I had known as a child had disappeared with tourism. But you can feel that Mauritian life is still very present, very strong.
Just this morning, we spoke with the people on the boat. They told us about life here.
So yes, it’s an island that could inspire me. But it’s not necessarily the scenery that inspires me—it’s the human stories, the people I meet.”
What do you appreciate most here?
“There’s never any noise here. And I love that. True rest is silence. The sound of the sea is enough.
For me, this calm, this atmosphere—that’s what’s truly restful.”
Three words to sum up your stay?
If you ask me for three words to sum up my stay… I’d say: desire to return.”..
