Wert and the Life Without End (French Literature) - Softcover

Ollier, Claude; Scott, Ursula Meany

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564786269 ISBN 13: 9781564786265

Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press, 2011

Synopsis

New work from one of the original leading figures of the Nouveau Roman. In some kind of institution, maybe a hospital or rehabilitation center, we are introduced to Wert, a disturbed, traumatized man still suffering the horrors of his experience as a soldier fighting in an unidentified conflict. A patient or prisoner, Wert writes down his memories of the war; his impressions of his current, ill-defined treatment; and his reflections on his own psychological well-being. When at last released, Wert undertakes a long journey to the east, and slowly recognizes the events of his life as being reminiscent of episodes from ancient epic narratives as though his entire story has simply been the reenactment of a tale first told thousands of years before. Chipping away at its narrative through short, rhythmic, poetic sentences; combining the worlds of the avant-garde and the ancient epic; and revealing the interconnectedness of psychology, lived experience, and the written word, Wert and the Life Without End is a masterpiece of self-reflective storytelling.

About this title

Review

Ollier explores the dividing line between past and present, the fault line of postwar European consciousness, still in a state of shock in the midst of evidence of its recent history, still recovering, semi-expectant and above all watchful. In bidding memory, as after Nabokov, to speak, one will also, in Ollier s world, have to answer to it, this requirement being as explicit a statement of the inherent hopefulness of narrative as one might look for in a fallen and betrayed civilization. --Choice

Using the structural device of contrast particularly light and darkness he works with words as a composer works with tonal patterns, producing a verbal symphony of distinctive beauty. --Anna Otten - Antioch Review

About the Author

Claude Ollier, one of the major forces behind the nouveau roman and recipient of several prestigious literary awards, including the Prix Médecis, is the author of more than twenty books of fiction, drama, memoir, and criticism. Ursula Meany Scott is a literary translator from French and Spanish. She holds an M. Phil in literary translation from Trinity College, Dublin, and her translations have appeared in two volumes of the Best European Fiction series to date.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1564786269
• ISBN 13: 9781564786265
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264