Foenkinos, David

David Foenkinos is a French bestselling author. Born in Paris, he studied literature and music there after which he worked as a guitar instructor until his desire to write took the upper hand. By the time he was sixteen, he had undergone heart surgery and spent time in hospital among more elderly fellow patients, which encouraged him contemplate the process of aging. He says that he choose to dedicate his time to writing because "his heart began to play up and got lost among the different ages". After a period of working in publishing, his first novel, Inversion de l’idiotie : de l’influence de deux Polonais came out in 2001. A few years later, he was awarded the Roger-Nimier Prize for The Erotical Potential of My Wife (2004, Le potential érotique de ma femme (2004).