Nouveaux entretiens avec Maryse Condé: écrivain et témoin de son temps par Françoise Pfaff

Abstract

Reviews 209 how in the face of senseless violence the picaresque pragmatics of “getting by” pervaded the Great War literary and pictorial imaginary, and how texts refashioned an erstwhile Spanish narrative mode known for its blend of epic “adventure time” and routine “everyday time” (19) and for its peripatetic working-class or peasant protagonist, who encounters an array of human types while remaining a non-entity or“everyman”(24). Accessible and witty, this exploration of French cultural memory does much to refocus our understanding of la guerre de 14–18 by retrieving the nimble-spirited ingenuity that sustained French society until 1930, when pessimistic narratives of heroic victimization displaced it. Johns Hopkins University (MD) Derek Schilling Pfaff, Françoise. Nouveaux entretiens avec Maryse Condé: écrivain et témoin de son temps. Paris: Karthala, 2016. ISBN 978-2-8111-1707-8. Pp. 200. Françoise Pfaff’s 1993 Entretiens avec Maryse Condé introduced the author to the public at a crucial time in her career and presented an exploration of the relationship between Condé’s life and her work as writer, academic and activist. Nouveaux entretiens updates readers on Condé’s trajectory since then, as she reflects on events that have transformed the world she engages in her work and reviews with Pfaff her publications since 1993 in an engaging give-and-take style that testifies to their twentyyear friendship. Some topics were seen in the first volume—the writer’s beginnings; views on feminism, the Black Diaspora, and racism. Drawing on interviews since 1993, Pfaff invites Condé to elaborate on other questions, like her relationship to the French language and what she meant by the statement “j’écris en Maryse Condé” (64). They discuss the intertextuality in her works, her ironic style, and a concept favored by Condé,“le cannibalisme littéraire”(60–61). Some views remain the same. Condé is as provocative as ever, nudging her readers to question both their view of the world and the one they think Condé is presenting. Other views have changed. The passage of time has taught her that a writer does not have to travel to discover human truths and has led her to query:“Est-ce qu’un voyage intérieur n’est pas aussi valable qu’un voyage physique?” (39). She is also less critical of her native Antilles and more realistic in her relationship with Africa. Condé’s approach to the world has not changed, but the world has, and current events have changed her approach to literature: “Maintenant, il faut concevoir une littérature qui ait la puissance de la vie sans tomber dans des travers de journalistes” (24). Globalization is less abstract to her as she considers writing about the young Martinican woman killed by a Malian terrorist on the streets of Paris (22– 23). Condé is no less politically active, but her activism has evolved into a passion for writing stories for children: “Je crois que c’est un reste de militantisme!” (158). Discussing with Condé her novels and children’s stories published since 1993, Pfaff provides both an overview of these works and insight into what inspired them. As Madeleine Cottenet-Hage writes in the introduction, Pfaff’s questions reveal a deep understanding of Condé’s writings and of her unique voice in world literature. This volume introduces new readers to an artist and activist who feels deeply about the human condition; readers who know Condé’s work will enjoy being in the company of her voice again. Wake Forest University (NC) Sarah Barbour Picherit, Hervé G. Le livre des écorchés: Proust, Céline et la Grande Guerre. Paris: CNRS, 2016. ISBN 978-2-271-08995-3. Pp. 368. Comment Proust et Céline,qui furent contemporains,répondirent-ils aux épreuves personnelles, familiales et sociales qui traversèrent leurs vies? C’est par cette question que ce livre rapproche deux écrivains qui semblent avoir peu en commun. Dans la première partie, Picherit définit tout d’abord le concept de “peau”, qui sert de fil conducteur à sa lecture. Cette “peau” est un imaginaire qui enveloppe, protège et structure un individu, une famille ou une communauté et que diverses catastrophes peuvent “écorcher...