Lecture

Lydie Salvayre

ISBN 10: 1564783510 / ISBN 13: 9781564783516

Edité par Dalkey Archive Press, US, 2005

At the City Hall in a small town in the South of France, one man starts his campaign to correct the ills that have overtaken his proud nation by lecuring the town's inhabitants on the art of conversation. In the narrator's opinion, "coversation is a specialty that is most eminently French," an art that should be nurtured and practiced, and can help repair France's reputation. Not to mention being a good conversationalist is extremely useful for seducing women, which is how the narrator managed to attract Lucienne, his "superbly lumpish" wife who died two months before giving this lecture. One of the oddest characters in contemporary fiction, the lecturer in this novel can't help but digress about his sad life in the midst of his speech, giving the reader a view of a self-centered man trying to turn one of his greatest faults into a virtue to be forced on everyone else. By turns ironic, hilarious, pathetic, and mortifying, Salvayre's The Lecture is an exuberant example of the exciting fiction being written in France. N° de réf. du vendeur LU-9781564783516

Synopsis :

At the city hall in a small town in the South of France, one man starts his campaign to correct the ills that have overtaken his proud nation by lecturing on the art of conversation. In his opinion, "conversation is a specialty that is most eminently French," an art that should be nurtured and practiced and that can help repair France's reputation. Not to mention that being a good conversationalist aids in seducing women, the method the lecturer used to attract Lucienne, his "superbly lumpish" wife.
One of the oddest characters in contemporary fiction, the lecturer can't help but digress about his sad life in the midst of his speech, although he's too self-deluded to realize quite how sad it is. Salvayre's The Lecture is an example of political double-talk and misogyny run wild.

À propos des auteurs: Lydie Salvayre, daughter of refugees from the Spanish Civil War, grew up in the south of France, where she received a degree in psychiatry. In her mid-forties she published her first novel, The Declaration. She has since published nine other books, including Everyday Life and The Power of Flies, and has received numerous awards, including the Prix Hermes and the Prix Novembre.

Linda Coverdale is the awarding-winning translator of many French works and has been honored with the title of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contribution to French literature.

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : Lecture
Éditeur : Dalkey Archive Press, US
Date d'édition : 2005
Reliure : Paperback
Etat : New