Articles liés à On the Clock

On the Clock - Couverture souple

Baglin, Claire

 
9781917092104: On the Clock

Synopsis

A Daily Telegraph greatest book of 2025

A voice-driven, penetrating novel of the exploitation and alienation of the working class.

In one strand, a young family bumps and scrapes through life. The hapless father balances demanding factory shiftwork, while the mother constantly prioritises the needs of others over her own. But there is also happiness: a trip to the seaside; sibling squabbles, games and laughter; tenderness and support. In another strand, a young woman describes her days working in a burger chain. It is exhausting, repetitive labour, too often peopled by tricky customers and even trickier managers. Hours pass. Days, weeks, years. It is an existence that marks the body and mind and governs a life.

What emerges, alive with eloquent detail, is a compelling exploration of social inequality. Writing with nimble nuance, a sly, subtle wit, and a sharp ear, Claire Baglin marks her debut in On the Clock as a blazingly original talent.

‘Astonishing . . . One of the paciest and most gripping pieces of prose I’ve encountered in a while.’ *****, Lucy Scholes, Daily Telegraph

‘A sophisticated new voice exploring the French working-class experience and the ways in which language may express its precarious specificities.’ Times Literary Supplement

‘Remarkably masterful.’ Le Monde

‘A virtuoso debut on alienation through work and the pain of the working class . . . an admirable writing of strength and precision, with a fierce anger simmering below.’ Livres Hebdo

‘Vibrating with tension… a beautiful discovery.’ Elisa Shua Dusapin

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À propos de l'auteur

Claire Baglin grew up in Normandy and lives in Tours. En Salle (On the Clock) is her debut.

Jordan Stump received the 2001 French-American Foundation’s Translation of Le Jardin des Plantes by Nobel Prize winner Claude Simon. In 2006, Stump was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He is a professor of French Literature at the University of Nebraska.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.