Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre My rating: 2 of 5 stars In the Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre's classic 1938 first novel, you can find many of the characteristics of the last decade or two's contemporary fiction: fragmentation, negative affect, indifference to plot or style, veiled autobiography, and a general conviction of ambient meaninglessness lit only by … Continue reading Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea
Tag: french literature
The Leaning Girl by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters My rating: 4 of 5 stars My fourth visit to artist Schuiten and writer Peeters's Cités obscures; I have previously reviewed The Theory of the Grain of Sand and Brüsel at some length and Samaris more briefly. I will keep this one brief: The Leaning Girl is the story of … Continue reading François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, The Leaning Girl
Brüsel by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is my third visit to Franco-Belgian creators Schuiten and Peeters's Cités obscures. The series of graphic novels is currently difficult or impossible to read completely in English, as it has passed between several different publishers, leaving many of the volumes out of … Continue reading François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, Brüsel
The Theory of the Grain of Sand by Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Theory of the Grain of Sand (2016; originally published in 2007-2008 in France) is the 13th entry in Franco-Belgian collaborators Schuiten and Peeters's series of graphic novels, Les Cités obscures. It is the first I've read, so there is … Continue reading François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters, The Theory of the Grain of Sand
Melville: A Novel by Jean Giono My rating: 4 of 5 stars Twentieth-century French novelist Jean Giono is currently being introduced (or re-introduced by NYRB Classics) to American readers, and what better introduction than Giono's bio-fantasia about Herman Melville, now translated by Paul Eprile? Melville was published in 1941 in France, and written in the … Continue reading Jean Giono, Melville
The Incal by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius My rating: 4 of 5 stars This classic 1980s science fiction graphic novel is the tale of John DiFool (i.e., the fool of the Tarot, representing humanity's freedom and stupidity). DiFool journeys to save the cosmos in the company of his sometime lover Animah (i.e., his Jungian anima, … Continue reading Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, The Incal
Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille My rating: 2 of 5 stars [This is a pornographic novel, and not all of the activities it describes are consensual, so you might avoid this review if you would like to avoid discussions or descriptions of such material.] Back during the dark heart of the George W. … Continue reading Georges Bataille, Story of the Eye
Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac My rating: 4 of 5 stars Lost Illusions, like its more hopeful but also more ironic English counterpart Great Expectations, could be the title affixed to the entire genre of the realist novel going back to Don Quixote: the realist novel is a narrative whose heroes and heroines learn … Continue reading Honoré de Balzac, Lost Illusions
All My Friends by Marie NDiaye My rating: 5 of 5 stars [With Marie NDiaye's Ladivine all the rage and some claiming that the French author is about to have a Ferrante-like breakthrough in the U.S., I thought I would post here my 2013 review of NDiaye's story collection, All My Friends; it also considers her … Continue reading Marie NDiaye, All My Friends
Submission by Michel Houellebecq My rating: 4 of 5 stars After Les Fleurs du mal I told Baudelaire it only remains for you to choose between the muzzle of the pistol and the foot of the Cross. But will the author of À rebours make the same choice? —Barbey d’Aurevilly You probably know this novel’s … Continue reading Michel Houellebecq, Submission
