La quête identitaire à travers l’allofiction dans le roman Premier sang d’Amélie Nothomb

Abstract

There is a lack of resources about allofiction, a kind of autobiographical writing. It is important to define and introduce the term to the wider academic community. This study aims to analyze and clarify allofiction by examinating the novel Premier sang (2021) written by Belgian novelist Amélie Nothomb. Authors rely on the concept of Serge Doubrovsky developed in Après-vivre (1994) where allofiction is part of autofiction. Another important aspect of the novel in question is a quest for the identity of the author. It is assumed that Amélie Nothomb reveals through allofiction her Belgian, family, professional and sexual identity, linked to her family past, or family memory. The results of our research confirm that the narrative of the novel reveals a significant number of identity traits. The Belgian identity is prevalent and mixed with the family identity, namely Belgian nobility and the professional identity, while underlining her multicultural character, such as being a singer of Japanese Noh and an admirer of Rimbaud.