Hervé Guibert

Hervé Guibert (1955–1991) was a French journalist, novelist, and photographer who initially dreamed of becoming a filmmaker. At 17, after failing the entrance exam for the prestigious IDHEC, he turned to photography, exhibiting his work and publishing several books. At 21, he joined the editorial team of Le Monde, where he served as a photography critic for eight years. A precocious writer, Guibert quickly garnered attention from critics and built a devoted readership that admired his boldness and incisiveness. After publishing several books with modest success, he rose to fame in 1990 with the release of To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life, in which he revealed his AIDS diagnosis and chronicled the final days of Michel Foucault. This novel became the first in a trilogy, followed by The Compassionate Protocol and The Man in the Red Hat, where he wrote about the daily progression of his illness. Guibert died by suicide at the age of 36, just weeks after completing his sole film, Modesty and Shame.