Research Catalog

Small worlds : minimalism in contemporary French literature

Title: Small worlds : minimalism in contemporary French literature / Warren Motte.
Author: Motte, Warren F.
Publication: Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, ©1999.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Book/Text	Use in library	PQ307.M55 M68 1999	Off-site

Details

Description

[ix], 212 pages; 21 cm.

Summary

Small Worlds examines the minimalist trend in French writing, from the early 1980s to the present. Warren Motte first considers the practice of minimalism in other media, such as the plastic arts and music, and then proposes a theoretical model of minimalist literature. Subsequent chapters are devoted to the work of a variety of contemporary French writers and a diversity of literary genres. In his discussion of minimalism, Motte considers smallness and simplicity, a reduction of means (and the resulting amplification of effect), immediacy, directness, clarity, repetition, symmetry, and playfulness. He argues that economy of expression offers writers a way of renovating traditional literary forms and allows them to represent human experience more directly.

Series Statement

Stages ; v. 13

Uniform Title

Stages (Series) ; v. 13.

Subject

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. [171]-207) and index.

Contents

1. Small Worlds -- 2. Edmond Jabes's Story -- 3. Herve Guibert's Cynicism -- 4. Annie Ernaux's Understatement -- 5. Jean-Philippe Toussaint's Ablutions -- 6. Marie Redonnet's Symmetries -- 7. Jean Echenoz's Occupations -- 8. Olivier Targowla's Funambulism -- 9. Patrick Roegiers's Dinner -- 10. Jacques Jouet's Soul -- 11. Emmanuele Bernheim's Affair.

ISBN

0803232020
9780803232020

LCCN

98026165

OCLC

ocm39290203
39290203
SCSB-9064003

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library