842 Revzews Segalenian CDivers' appears as both thestructural andthematic inspiration ofthe volume. The unifying notion ofdiversity is treated in itsvarious manifestations The notion of'le Divers)as elaborated bySegalenhimself is thesuNJect ofCharles Forsdick's essay onthereception ofSegalen, inwhich heanalyses itsimplications forpost-colonial authors suchas EdouardGlissantn and Jean-Xavier Ridon discusses howrespecting the integrity of'leDivers' cancreate problems for a writer attempting toaccount for the otherness ofthe other. Thenotion of'leDivers' isthen extrapolated to embrace thediversity ofSegalenhimself: first, Segalentheart historian rescuing non-Buddhist statuary from academic oblivion (inan essay by NickPearce); second, Segalen asonehalf ofa creative relationship, byEdward J. Hughes (Segalen-Loti), SusanMarson (Segalen-Michaux) Philip Weller (SegalenDebussy ) andKenneth White (Segalen-Rimbaud). Someofthese pairings existed in reallifeas friendships, whilst theothers arelinks madebetween thecorpus of Segalen's work andthat ofanother. Therelationship between the body ofSegalen's workand hisphysical bodyis dissected in theessays byNoel Cordonier and Christian Doumet, whoboth suggest that thebody ofthemancanbeseendirectly as theliving texture ofhistexts, expressed through syntax, rhythms andnarrative structures. Finally, MarieDolle examines, in thelittle-discussed context ofhis religious beliefs, howSegalenswork cangiverisetoa diversity ofreadings ofhis historical person. Inattempting tocapture the diversity oftheir subject, these essays alsosucceed as accounts ofthegeneric diversity ofSegalen's output. However, in thelastanalysis, thisdiversity is shown to converge towards a unity: Segalen's poetry, prose andgeographical writings canallbesaidtofit into thegenre oftravel writing, andthis clarifies a number ofissues. Forinstance, thebody (person)-body (work) relationship gains a particular relevance intravel writing, asitswriter isone whomoves simultaneously through time, spaceandpage,andthetext becomes what SusanMarson calls'a mapofthesubject inhisdesires andregrets' (p. XI4). Thesediverse readings doindeed result ina detailed mapof'Segalen', andmake the volume a valuable contribution toscholars interested inboth Segalen andinhis favourite genre. UNIVERSITY OFWARWICK AKANE KAWAKAMI ICAuteur en souffrance: Essai sur laposition et larepresentation delnauteur dans leroman antillais contenaporain(I98I-I992). ByDoMINIQuEcHANcE. Paris:PressesUniversitaires deFrance.2000. 224 pp. I 38F. Thewriters oftheFrench Antilles speak ina voicewhich isquite distinctive within thewider framework ofCaribbean writing. The mainreason forthis liesinthe idiosyncratic political situation ofthe departements d'outre mer. Never having truly shed the shackles ofcolonialisma there ishere anenduring legacy ofguilt andshame, and offeelings ofdisempowerment. One ofthecentral ideasofDominique (Chance's study isthat thesocialandpolitical context ofanyliterature affiects every aspect of anauthor's work. Thetitle ofherbookcomes from the psychoanalytical ideathat a letter which hasnotbeendelivered, ora message which hasnotbeenreceived, is saidto be 'en souffirance'. The message oftheFrench Antillean author is 'en soufFance' becauseoftheabsence ofan addressee, a readership, intheplaceof writing (theislands themselves). Forthisreason) themajorfigures ofthecreolite group) JeanBernabe, Patrick Chamoiseau, and RaphaelConfiant (all heavily influenced by EdouardGlissant) havefamously remarked that'La litterature antillaise n'existe pasencore. Noussommes encore dansunetat deprelitterature'. MLR,96.3,200 I 843 Chanceshows how,becauseofthepolitical impasse, andtheabsenceofthe reader, literary creolite exists on theleveloftheimagination. Thisimagination challenges (neo-) colonial versions ofhistory, and,bygiving valuetoorality, with its multiplicity of(hi)stories, proposes newinterpretations ofthe past, the present, and therelationship between thetwo.Chancediscusses how,totheAntillean, writing hasbeenseenasaninstrument ofoppression, andhowthis hascreated a deepsense of mistrust towards written language.Wherewriting is immobilization and emasculation, theoralrepresents freedom, poetry, andspontaneity. Thenarrators oftheFrench Caribbean novel arethus inanalmost impossible position; refusing thetitle ofecrivain, they define themselves as 'marqueurs deparole', intermediaries between theworld oftheoral,andtheunfamiliar, uncomfortable domain ofthe written. Chancedemonstrates howthedramaofthese novels centres around the situation of the'marqueurs de parole',and theirattempts to synthesize the contradictory forces atwork intheir cultural andpolitical context. Thequestion of language isinevitably foregrounded, andChanceskilfully delineates theproblems ofwriting inan'authentic' creole, without further increasing thesense ofbetrayal andguiltShefinds that, justasthere isnot yet a true literature, Cauthentic' language isitself 'ensouffrance'. Inher conclusion, Chance implicitly agrees with Glissant that any solution tothis condition ofstasis will only comewith anendtotheneo-colonial political situation intheislands. Only then will the reader, the writer, andthe literature betruly born. Fornow, however, asChance's excellent study shows, the process ofgiving birth is providing some ofthe most fascinating andchallenging contemporary reading. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK MARTIN MUNRO La;MouvelleAlliance. infuencesfrancophones sur lalitterature ecossaise moderne. Ed.byDAVID KINLOCH AND RICHARD PRICE. Grenoble: ELLUG. 2000.264PP. I40F. Despiteitsofficial conclusion bytheActofUnionin I707,the'AuldAlliance' continued tothrive throughout theeighteenth century with theperpetuation of Franco-Scottish dialogue inpolitics, philosophy and thearts.Bythetwentieth century, the political dimension hadbeeneclipsed bynewaxesofpower, but, asthe ten contributions (together with the useful introduction andbibliographical annexe) inthis volume show, Francophone influence onScottish culture persists. Hereitis the nature ofthe Alliance which isinquestion, theambiguous 'Nouvelle' ofthe title suggesting either...