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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
I don't think I've ever read a piece of fiction that contained so many titles of other pieces of fiction within it, all themselves fictional—except maybe in Borges.
When I string the fictional titles together, they read to me like a beautiful but hallucinatory poem, a poem that speaks of a well of possible stories that reach deep, deep into literary history.
Le labyrinthe de l’inhumain
Anatomie du vide
Élégie pour nuit noire
Le badamier barbare
Journal d’une pygophile
Noir d’ébène
L’ogive sainte
La mélancolie du sable
Behind all those fictional titles lie the true facts of a real book title, [b:Le Devoir de Violence|17164582|Le Devoir de Violence|Yambo Ouologuem|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356304654l/17164582._SY75_.jpg|1709619] by Malian author Yambo Ouologuem which won the French 'Prix Renaudot' in 1968. Ouologuem was later accused of plagiarism and withdrew from literary life.
The real book that I'm reviewing here, the 2021 Goncourt prize winner [b:La plus secrète mémoire des hommes|58859524|La plus secrète mémoire des hommes|Mohamed Mbougar Sarr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629962140l/58859524._SY75_.jpg|92719156], is said to be inspired by that 1968 literary scandal. Senegalese author, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr has created a fictional compatriot called T C Elimane, who moves to France where his first novel, Le labyrinthe de l’inhumain wins a prestigious literary prize in 1938. But soon afterwards, Elimane is accused of plagiarising almost the entire Western canon and the book is withdrawn from sale. Elimane and his book disappear without trace.
Sarr's own labyrinthine book is an account of fictional Senegalese author Diégane Faye's search for Elimane and his book. The search leads Diégane from Paris to Amsterdam where he meets the author of Élégie pour nuit noire who tells him about her own long search for Elimane. Her story contains within it the stories of many people who knew Elimane including a fictional Haitian poet who met him in Buenos Aires in the company of real life authors, Witold Gombrowiz and Ernesto Sabato, but who then loses sight of him. Elimane is like the 'man in the macintosh' in Joyce's [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428891345l/338798._SY75_.jpg|2368224], no sooner caught sight of than he exits the picture. Perhaps he's also like Homer's Ulysses, continuously on the move, unwilling to go home to the tiny village in Senegal where his mother sat under a mango tree for many years awaiting his return, the same tree under which the crocodile who ate his grandfather had been buried years before.
As you may have grasped, this original book gazes deep into the well of literary history and makes the reader ask questions about the very concept of 'original'. It also raises questions for me personally about post colonial literature. Senegal is a former French colony so the language of schooling is French and the most brilliant literature students, such as Sarr, inevitably drift towards universities in France, become steeped in the Western canon, and, if they become writers, they write in French. But what are they to write about in this language that does not belong to their ancestors but to the pillagers of their native land? There is surely a temptation to pillage the language and literature of the colonizers in turn. I was again reminded of Joyce, this time [b:Finnegans Wake|11013|Finnegans Wake|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336408055l/11013._SX50_.jpg|322098] which is threaded through with borrowings not only from literature but from journalism, court cases, publicity material, song lyrics, basically a giant act of subversion by an author from a former colony, writing in a language that was not that of his ancestors.
And that is what I read into this story of the fictional Elimane, accused of plagiarizing innumerable authors of the Western canon. I read it as an act of original and genius subversion.
When I string the fictional titles together, they read to me like a beautiful but hallucinatory poem, a poem that speaks of a well of possible stories that reach deep, deep into literary history.
Le labyrinthe de l’inhumain
Anatomie du vide
Élégie pour nuit noire
Le badamier barbare
Journal d’une pygophile
Noir d’ébène
L’ogive sainte
La mélancolie du sable
Behind all those fictional titles lie the true facts of a real book title, [b:Le Devoir de Violence|17164582|Le Devoir de Violence|Yambo Ouologuem|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356304654l/17164582._SY75_.jpg|1709619] by Malian author Yambo Ouologuem which won the French 'Prix Renaudot' in 1968. Ouologuem was later accused of plagiarism and withdrew from literary life.
The real book that I'm reviewing here, the 2021 Goncourt prize winner [b:La plus secrète mémoire des hommes|58859524|La plus secrète mémoire des hommes|Mohamed Mbougar Sarr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629962140l/58859524._SY75_.jpg|92719156], is said to be inspired by that 1968 literary scandal. Senegalese author, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr has created a fictional compatriot called T C Elimane, who moves to France where his first novel, Le labyrinthe de l’inhumain wins a prestigious literary prize in 1938. But soon afterwards, Elimane is accused of plagiarising almost the entire Western canon and the book is withdrawn from sale. Elimane and his book disappear without trace.
Sarr's own labyrinthine book is an account of fictional Senegalese author Diégane Faye's search for Elimane and his book. The search leads Diégane from Paris to Amsterdam where he meets the author of Élégie pour nuit noire who tells him about her own long search for Elimane. Her story contains within it the stories of many people who knew Elimane including a fictional Haitian poet who met him in Buenos Aires in the company of real life authors, Witold Gombrowiz and Ernesto Sabato, but who then loses sight of him. Elimane is like the 'man in the macintosh' in Joyce's [b:Ulysses|338798|Ulysses|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1428891345l/338798._SY75_.jpg|2368224], no sooner caught sight of than he exits the picture. Perhaps he's also like Homer's Ulysses, continuously on the move, unwilling to go home to the tiny village in Senegal where his mother sat under a mango tree for many years awaiting his return, the same tree under which the crocodile who ate his grandfather had been buried years before.
As you may have grasped, this original book gazes deep into the well of literary history and makes the reader ask questions about the very concept of 'original'. It also raises questions for me personally about post colonial literature. Senegal is a former French colony so the language of schooling is French and the most brilliant literature students, such as Sarr, inevitably drift towards universities in France, become steeped in the Western canon, and, if they become writers, they write in French. But what are they to write about in this language that does not belong to their ancestors but to the pillagers of their native land? There is surely a temptation to pillage the language and literature of the colonizers in turn. I was again reminded of Joyce, this time [b:Finnegans Wake|11013|Finnegans Wake|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336408055l/11013._SX50_.jpg|322098] which is threaded through with borrowings not only from literature but from journalism, court cases, publicity material, song lyrics, basically a giant act of subversion by an author from a former colony, writing in a language that was not that of his ancestors.
And that is what I read into this story of the fictional Elimane, accused of plagiarizing innumerable authors of the Western canon. I read it as an act of original and genius subversion.
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To Write or Not to Write, That's the Question
It was a long time ago that I've read a worthy Goncourt, but this sure is one. To me Mohamed Mbougar Sarr comes out of nowhere, but apparently he already has published a few novels. With this book he shows not only his stylistic skills, but also psychological and philosophical depth.
Mbougar Sarr immediately takes you into the story, by making it clear almost from the start that this book is about a quest: the search for the cult book “The Labyrinth of Inhumanity” and its Senegalese author T.C. Elimane. This quest is done by the novice, the 'promising' writer Diégane Faye, a compatriot of Elimane's who also ended up in Paris and is received in almost the same, half-derogatory way by the French literary establishment. The author holds on to that central storyline of the search for Elimane to the end, which explains the homogeneity of this very complicated novel. Maybe the final the twist at the end is a bit disappointing (it was to me), but I can't say anything more about it, so as not to spoil the reading pleasure.
Of course, the combined French-African aspect is quite central to this story. Through Diégane and other characters, Mbougar Sarr sheds light on the complex, still fraught relationship between France and its former colonies. The author pinpoints the massive, negative impact of that domination, not only in the literary environment, but also beyond. But Mbougar Sarr also goes wider. Part of this story takes place not only in Paris and Dakar, but also in Argentina, for reasons that will only really become clear at the end. It also enables Mbougar Sarr to give a big nod to Jorge Borges and especially his [b:The Garden of Forking Paths|10438328|The Garden of Forking Paths|Jorge Luis Borges|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297454026l/10438328._SX50_.jpg|14566729], which clearly was one of his sources of inspiration.
And so we inevitably arrive at the central literary theme of this book: what is writing? Why do writers write? What is the social or the existential value of literature? Protagonist Diégane and his companions raise it with the regularity of the clock, without coming to any definitive conclusions. That certainly makes up the meta layer of this book, which immediately indicates that this is perhaps too highbrow a work to appeal to the general public.
What is also both a threshold and a charm is the book's ingenious polyphony. The story may be led by protaganist Diégane, but in practice it are mainly other voices that speak, people - usually fellow writers - who have had to do with Elimane in one way or another. Mbougar Sarr initially introduces them very sparingly, but gradually the polyphony becomes labyrinthine (!) intertwined, whereby it is only with great difficulty that you can decipher who is speaking. In my opinion, the author may have taken this a little too far, as he also throws in a few storylines that just add volume, not depth. The flashy prose (“see what I can do”!) and certain rather artificial twists, also detracted somewhat from the reading pleasure for me.
So, perhaps he is not entirely successful, but Mbougar Sarr finally manages to convey his central message: that of the labyrinthine and therefore ephemeral character of our existence, of any existence, however illustrious it may seem at a certain moment, and against which even writing apparently is barely able to do anything. To end in the words of the author: “And when his phantom steps towards me, it will formulate the terrible existential choice that was the dilemma of his life; the choice about which every man obsessed with literature will always hesitate in his heart: to write, not to write.” This book is a nice discovery, and if Mbougar Sarr can control his skills a little more, he will certainly become one of the greats.
Rating 3.5 stars.
(english translation "The Most Secret Memory of Man", forthcoming in September. )
It was a long time ago that I've read a worthy Goncourt, but this sure is one. To me Mohamed Mbougar Sarr comes out of nowhere, but apparently he already has published a few novels. With this book he shows not only his stylistic skills, but also psychological and philosophical depth.
Mbougar Sarr immediately takes you into the story, by making it clear almost from the start that this book is about a quest: the search for the cult book “The Labyrinth of Inhumanity” and its Senegalese author T.C. Elimane. This quest is done by the novice, the 'promising' writer Diégane Faye, a compatriot of Elimane's who also ended up in Paris and is received in almost the same, half-derogatory way by the French literary establishment. The author holds on to that central storyline of the search for Elimane to the end, which explains the homogeneity of this very complicated novel. Maybe the final the twist at the end is a bit disappointing (it was to me), but I can't say anything more about it, so as not to spoil the reading pleasure.
Of course, the combined French-African aspect is quite central to this story. Through Diégane and other characters, Mbougar Sarr sheds light on the complex, still fraught relationship between France and its former colonies. The author pinpoints the massive, negative impact of that domination, not only in the literary environment, but also beyond. But Mbougar Sarr also goes wider. Part of this story takes place not only in Paris and Dakar, but also in Argentina, for reasons that will only really become clear at the end. It also enables Mbougar Sarr to give a big nod to Jorge Borges and especially his [b:The Garden of Forking Paths|10438328|The Garden of Forking Paths|Jorge Luis Borges|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297454026l/10438328._SX50_.jpg|14566729], which clearly was one of his sources of inspiration.
And so we inevitably arrive at the central literary theme of this book: what is writing? Why do writers write? What is the social or the existential value of literature? Protagonist Diégane and his companions raise it with the regularity of the clock, without coming to any definitive conclusions. That certainly makes up the meta layer of this book, which immediately indicates that this is perhaps too highbrow a work to appeal to the general public.
What is also both a threshold and a charm is the book's ingenious polyphony. The story may be led by protaganist Diégane, but in practice it are mainly other voices that speak, people - usually fellow writers - who have had to do with Elimane in one way or another. Mbougar Sarr initially introduces them very sparingly, but gradually the polyphony becomes labyrinthine (!) intertwined, whereby it is only with great difficulty that you can decipher who is speaking. In my opinion, the author may have taken this a little too far, as he also throws in a few storylines that just add volume, not depth. The flashy prose (“see what I can do”!) and certain rather artificial twists, also detracted somewhat from the reading pleasure for me.
So, perhaps he is not entirely successful, but Mbougar Sarr finally manages to convey his central message: that of the labyrinthine and therefore ephemeral character of our existence, of any existence, however illustrious it may seem at a certain moment, and against which even writing apparently is barely able to do anything. To end in the words of the author: “And when his phantom steps towards me, it will formulate the terrible existential choice that was the dilemma of his life; the choice about which every man obsessed with literature will always hesitate in his heart: to write, not to write.” This book is a nice discovery, and if Mbougar Sarr can control his skills a little more, he will certainly become one of the greats.
Rating 3.5 stars.
(english translation "The Most Secret Memory of Man", forthcoming in September. )
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Un livre énorme. Une grande enquête littéraire, qui s’agit de l’amour, la « patrie », l’histoire, le passé, et bien sûr la question éternelle d’écriture. Je n’y attendais pas du tout mais ce livre m’a beaucoup plu, et je pense encore à la sensualité de cette goutte.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Well, this wasn't a good book for me. I listened to it as an audiobook and it was the only way to finish it, when I could do other things at the same time and not just be with the story.
The book was pseudo-artistic and pseudo-philosophical. I thought of a teenager who tries to be deep and present his theories about the world, but is not really able to do it yet.
There was one unintentionally ironic and therefore funny part in the book, where the main character read some text and complained that it was just pseudo-deep metaphysical nonsense... Yep...
The characters in the book were unbelievable and I didn't get attached to them. Especially the sex scenes turned me off, a few examples:
- a strange man comes in a public place to inform a woman "I have an erection" and the woman gets so excited about this that she invites the man over to have sex, also she gives her most amazing treasure to the man as a gift
- a man refuses an invitation to group sex but begins to regret his decision, however, he doesn't dare to join anymore because it would be embarrassing to change his mind, so he states that the best solution is to kill everyone brutally (luckily Jesus himself came to prevent the plans)
- in the 2020s, a book where female characters are empowered by catcalling and harassment...
In all honesty, I couldn't think of a single good thing about this book.
The book was pseudo-artistic and pseudo-philosophical. I thought of a teenager who tries to be deep and present his theories about the world, but is not really able to do it yet.
There was one unintentionally ironic and therefore funny part in the book, where the main character read some text and complained that it was just pseudo-deep metaphysical nonsense... Yep...
The characters in the book were unbelievable and I didn't get attached to them. Especially the sex scenes turned me off, a few examples:
- a strange man comes in a public place to inform a woman "I have an erection" and the woman gets so excited about this that she invites the man over to have sex, also she gives her most amazing treasure to the man as a gift
- a man refuses an invitation to group sex but begins to regret his decision, however, he doesn't dare to join anymore because it would be embarrassing to change his mind, so he states that the best solution is to kill everyone brutally (luckily Jesus himself came to prevent the plans)
- in the 2020s, a book where female characters are empowered by catcalling and harassment...
In all honesty, I couldn't think of a single good thing about this book.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated