Caroline Torbey jots down all her emotions, and life questionings in a journal and over time, they become novels and short stories. The published and awarded writer opened up about her wanderings from place to place and from question to question…
Caroline is now reading Camus, ‘The myth of Sisyphus’ who wanted to defy the Gods, so they cursed him; every time he rolls a stone up a mountain it falls back down, and he tries to find happiness despite this curse. She loves to ponder philosophical questions, the absurdity of life and love. From observations of her own emotions, and the stories of her friends and people she meets, Caroline comes up with fascinating stories that relate our common questionings. Her story about her recent trip to Switzerland and contrasts with chaotic Lebanon, was just published in the new edition of magazine Les Moments Littéraires alongside other Lebanese authors. Her short story ‘Refuge’ received the George Sand prize. It is about a little girl, a Syrian refugee, whose family home was bombarded. She ended up in a camp in Lebanon, lost her words and could only express herself through her doll. The writer was inspired by a little girl she used to see at the corner of Burj el Ghazal in Beirut who always held her doll close in her arms. She is also working on a short movie about ‘Refuge’. Caroline’s first book ‘Quelle heure est-il chez vous?’ (What time is it for you?) relates several stories of people she met along her journey. While she was working in Dubai in PR for luxury brands, Caroline was single, dating and wondering about relationships; the absurdity of some of her decisions when she would meet decent guys but did not feel like pursuing the story with them. She met an ex-prostitute who felt bored and started going out with gigolos, an interesting encounter featured in her first book. The writer listens to her friends; their relationships, divorces, adultery. Her upcoming book will be about a 35-year-old woman who is eternally unsatisfied, she keeps changing partners and always finds something is missing.
The eternal unanswered questions of love, Caroline admits she asks herself constantly. the young woman tells us she likes to vibrate, observe and admire the beauty and absurdity of life. The author is now married and lives in Beirut. She is French-Lebanese with origins from Germany and Vietnam. She has already published two novels, several short stories and children books featuring a series of illustrated proverbs about Lebanon’s culture and rich heritage. Her upcoming youth book is fables shedding light on the importance to protect the environment and the undersea. She does a lot of projects with schools across the country, and tells us that the energy of our youth makes her feel like there is hope somehow for a positive change. Caroline writes in French promoting that culture and keeping it alive in Lebanon while embracing its evolution, not hesitating to jot down here and there local expressions and slang in her texts. She was invited for a conference in Geneva to talk about her latest novel, ‘Eclat d’une vie’ (Burst of life) a testimony of her personal experience from the ravaging Beirut blast on August 4, 2020, ‘my fingers were typing faster than my thoughts,’ where she talked about that kind of writing, which happens in emergency situations. She also did a talk in Cyprus about her book and the ‘in between’ generation of Lebanon to which we belong, nor too young neither too old to stay and yet not leaving this devastated country. She tells us she is hypersensitive, but found strength in this trait of character through her writing and conferences, which allow her to discharge emotionally and share the stories we can relate to.
We asked this life wanderer about her favorite spots in Lebanon:
- She loves to sit at the bar at Centrale, and reimagine the world with her friends. ‘The atmosphere is always friendly, the food always good and the crowd is nice.’ Located in a once deserted area during Lebanon’s civil war, the damaged façade was kept intact, just covered with metallic mesh. The cylindrical roof over the bar opens up in summer on a terrace and view of chaotic Beirut. @centralebeirut
- She likes to escape to Zita Fidar a bed and breakfast that marries art and nature. Listening to a concert in the lounge featuring a black and white mural by artist Jean-Marc Nahas with dots of colors painted by the owner’s daughter, or outside by the sea staring at the horizon Caroline finds inspiration to write. @zitafidar
- In the morning, you will find the writer running at the seafront. She is an early bird and will be by Zaituna Bay near the Beirut Yacht Club, exercising at 6.30-7am on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Climb up the mountains of Lebanon, across oak, pine trees and cedars forests, Caroline spends many of her weekends reading at her house, niched in greenery, in the village of Aitou located in Zgharta district in the north.
Photo 2: Courtesy of @centralebeirut
Photo 4: Courtesy of @zitafidar
