A CRISIS OF HYBRID GENRES: PHILIPPE FOREST AND THE RETURN OF THE ‘I-NOVEL’ TO FRENCH LITERATURE
https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2018-4-243-263
Abstract
The article analyses the disintegration of hybrid genres, a major trend that has been taking shape in French literature in recent decades. Having exhausted the resources for hybridization of genres and survived the ‘death of the author’ period, French literature is searching for new ways to rejuvenate and refresh its genre forms. One option is convergence with other national literary tradition, in order to reconsider its own genre hierarchy and establish a new status of the writing individual between the autobiography and the novel. Particularly interesting in this regard is the attempt to overcome a genre crisis by the French writer Philippe Forest (born in 1962), who draws on the traditions of French avant-garde novels and the Japanese ‘I-novel’ (shôsetsu). The new genre distinguishes itself through special narration forms, the particular meaning of an event, and a certain balance between the imaginary and factual in Forest’s prose.
Supporting agencies: The publication was supported by a grant ATLAS from The Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Foundation (Paris) and The Centre for Franco-Russian Research (Moscow).
About the Author
L. Muravyova
National Research University – Higher School of Economics (Nizhny Novgorod)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Larisa E. Muravyova, Candidate of Philology
25-12 B. Pechorskaya St., Nizhny Novgorod, 603155
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Review
For citations:
Muravyova L. A CRISIS OF HYBRID GENRES: PHILIPPE FOREST AND THE RETURN OF THE ‘I-NOVEL’ TO FRENCH LITERATURE. Voprosy literatury. 2018;(4):243-263. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31425/0042-8795-2018-4-243-263
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