The latest addition to my website is Michael Ferrier‘s François, portrait d’un absent (François, Portrait Of An Absent Friend). The eponymous absent friend is François Christophe, very much a real person, a film-maker and producer of radio drama, though there is very little about him on the web. He and his daughter had been washed away by a wave. The narrator, clearly Ferrier himself, produces a eulogy to his friend, at times poetic and filmic, at other more practical and down to earth, detailing their close relationship from first meeting at a surprisingly liberal (drink and drugs) boarding school to François’ career in film and radio. They have their ups and downs, particularly when making a film together in Japan where the narrator/Ferrier lives but Ferrier makes it very clear how important the friendship was and how much he will miss his friend. It could have been boring but Ferrier writes an excellent tribute to a man of many parts.