Le petit polémiste par Ilan Duran Cohen

Abstract

Reviewed by: Le petit polémiste par Ilan Duran Cohen William Cloonan Duran Cohen, Ilan. Le petit polémiste. Actes Sud, 2020. ISBN 978-2-330-13525-6. Pp. 302. The year is 2029. France has become a triumphant example of political correctness. Racism, sexism, cruelty to animals and discrimination against sexual minorities are against the law. So are obesity, Tupperware (all that plastic) and Santa Claus, "par respect pour l'intelligence des enfants" (210). Marseille is now the "Territoire islamique autonome" where Muslims can observe their cultural and religious practices free from hassles. Next to La place des Étoiles in Paris is le Ghetto where Jews have the same privileges. In the interest of geographic equality the "Nouvelle Assemblée nationale" has been moved from Paris to the more central Bourges. Brothels are considered social assets since the "auxiliaires d'épanouissement", formerly known as prostitutes, are renowned for lowering personal tension and relieving physical stress. This is a nation where everyone is required to be happy and obey the law. To ensure that these goals are met, cameras abound. If crime is considered out of date, so is privacy. Violation of social norms, for instance disliking the neighbor's dog, adversely affects one's mapping, a report card that is updated several times a year. Demerits can result in curtailed privileges, such as a reduction in the coupons required to buy meat or alcohol, both deemed of dubious value to the human body and thus strictly regulated. The novel's main character is Alain Conlang, a onetime novelist and filmmaker whose single cinematic effort, an action movie replete with incredible violence, was roundly criticized by feminists for not having a female protagonist. Currently, he is a licensed polemist, someone permitted to make short commentaries on state television that offer real salaciousness and soft social critique, which amuse some without creating any ripples in the body politic. At a "soirée mondaine", Alain mentions that he cannot stand "de travailler pour les nanas" (13). A shocked silence ensues, immediately followed by the guests frantically turning to their cellphones to denounce him to the authorities. His erstwhile friends desert him as he rapidly is transformed into a social pariah. Alain attributes his faux pas to drunkenness (alcohol is permitted at such gatherings), but the novel more accurately implies that the cause was boredom. In this perfect society, when citizens are not frightened for their mappings, they are bored out of their minds since: "Il n'y a plus de héros […] que des planqués, des collabos ou des mouchards" (144). As a novel, Le petit polémiste sometimes wobbles. Alain is a fil conducteur, less fascinating in himself than in the ways his travails expose the not particularly hidden underside of the world wherein he lives. His dystopic society is the true center of interest. Its ubiquity and whacky logic engender a continuous, albeit nervous amusement. Le petit polémiste is a satirical version of a leftwing terrorism whose underlying assumption is that once the mind is controlled, the body will follow. No guns or physical violence needed. [End Page 260] William Cloonan Florida State University, emeritus Copyright © 2021 American Association of Teachers of French