French Novelists of Today

Fülszöveg

LITERATURE
FRENCH NOVELISTS OF TODAY
HENRIPEYRE
The original version of this book appeared in 1955 as The Contemporary French Novel, which was in turn based upon Professor Peyre's Flexner Lectures of 1944. Much has happened in French fiction since the mid-nine-teen-fifties. Some figures, such as Proust, Malraux, Green, and Bernanos, have grown in stature; others, such as Gide and even Camus, are now viewed more critically; the existentialist novel is in decline; and the "new" novelists of the late nineteen-fifties are challenged by an even newer set of writers.
These changes, and many others, are reflected in this new version of a standard work on modern literature. The introductory chapter has been revised and expanded. There is a new chapter on three controversial novelists: Bernanos, Céline, and Green. Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, who formerly shared a chapter, now have chapters of their own —Simone de Beauvoir being discussed within the general context of feminine... Tovább

Fülszöveg

LITERATURE
FRENCH NOVELISTS OF TODAY
HENRIPEYRE
The original version of this book appeared in 1955 as The Contemporary French Novel, which was in turn based upon Professor Peyre's Flexner Lectures of 1944. Much has happened in French fiction since the mid-nine-teen-fifties. Some figures, such as Proust, Malraux, Green, and Bernanos, have grown in stature; others, such as Gide and even Camus, are now viewed more critically; the existentialist novel is in decline; and the "new" novelists of the late nineteen-fifties are challenged by an even newer set of writers.
These changes, and many others, are reflected in this new version of a standard work on modern literature. The introductory chapter has been revised and expanded. There is a new chapter on three controversial novelists: Bernanos, Céline, and Green. Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, who formerly shared a chapter, now have chapters of their own —Simone de Beauvoir being discussed within the general context of feminine literature in France. The most important difference, however, is the addition of a long chapter on the "new novel." Here Nathalie Sarraute ("her theoretical views and her scant achievement"), Robbe-Grillet ("a virtuoso his rapid decline into repetitiousness of mannerisms and into facile eroticism"), Claude Simon and Michael Butor ("greater density and richer substance"), Violette Leduc and Le Clézio ("the authors of the most striking novels of 1964-66") all find their place, along with Professor Peyre's highly independent views of them.
Bibliographies and the list of titles with English translations all have been brought up to date, as well as the Panorama of Present-day Novelists, a long and detailed survey of novelists not specifically treated in the book.
". . . is even l)etler than its predecessor. It is a superb hook, an absolute must for anyone even rcmolcly inlereslcd in modern French literature."
Thomas Bishop, Saturday Review
Henri Peyre is Sterling Professor of French at Yale University. He is the recipient of a number of medals and prizes and of twelve honorary doctorates. Former president of the Modern Language Association, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Peyre is the author of many books, the latest being Literature and Sincerity. Vissza