The French List
2 total works
In recent years, social workers have raised concern about the appearance of a new category among the working poor. Even among the employed, there are people so overburdened by the cost of living and so under compensated that they cannot afford a place to sleep. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, contrary to popular opinion, forty-four percent of the homeless in developed nations actually have jobs. In "No Fixed Abode", Marc Auge's pathbreaking fictional ethnography, a man named Henri narrates his strange existence on the margins of Paris. By day he walks the streets, lingers in conversation with the local shopkeepers, and sits writing in cafes, but at night he takes shelter in an abandoned house. From here, we see a progressive erosion of Henri's identity, a loss of bearings, and a slow degeneration of his ability to relate to others. But then he meets the artist Dominique, whose willingness to share her life with him raises questions about who he has become and what a person needs in order to be a part of society. This is a book about how we live in geographical space and how work and patterns of domicile affect our status and our inner being.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the fictional premise, Auge's book asks serious questions about the nature of our culture.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the fictional premise, Auge's book asks serious questions about the nature of our culture.
As he leaves the cinema where he has just watched Casablanca, one of his favorite films, Julien is approached by a mysterious young woman, Claire. Unbeknownst to Julien, Claire has been following him for several days. Outside the cinema she relays a cryptic message: "Someone's trying to find you." She insists that as a practitioner of the little-known science of narrative psychology she is acting as the anonymous individual's intermediary Slowly, Julien allows himself to be sucked into Claire's investigation, and a strange odyssey through his past ensues. In this novel by Marc Auge, a master of ethnofiction, the two meet up in Paris cafes to discuss the events of their lives - Occupation and Liberation, the Algerian War, and 1968- and Julien puzzles over who in his past could be searching for him. His ex-wife? An enigmatic lover from a seedy corner of Berlin? Soon, Julien realizes he is in the midst of a mysterious game of confession with a woman he knows nothing about. In a quick reversal, he shines the spotlight on Claire. Who is she, and why are her questions so intense? Why does she seem focused on one particular year - 1968?
As the story unravels, we begin to understand that the puzzling nature of Claire's quest proves to be a metaphor for other enigmas, including the mysteries of the heart. Beautifully written, Someone's Trying to Find You is a haunting addition to Seagull's French List, and it should not be missed.
As the story unravels, we begin to understand that the puzzling nature of Claire's quest proves to be a metaphor for other enigmas, including the mysteries of the heart. Beautifully written, Someone's Trying to Find You is a haunting addition to Seagull's French List, and it should not be missed.