The Nobel Prize in Literature 2014
Patrick Modiano was born on July 30, 1945, in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris. His father was a businessman and his mother an actress. After leaving school, he studied at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. He took private lessons in geometry from Raymond Queneau, a writer who was to play a decisive role for his development. Already in 1968, Modiano made his debut as a writer with La place de l'étoile, a novel that attracted much attention.
Modiano's works centre on topics such as memory, oblivion, identity and guilt. The city of Paris is often present in the text and can almost be considered a creative participant in the works. Rather often his tales are built on an autobiographical foundation, or on events that took place during the German occupation. He sometimes draws material for his works from interviews, newspaper articles or his own notes accumulated over the years. His novels show an affinity with one another, and it happens that earlier episodes are extended or that persons recur in different tales. The author's hometown and its history often serve to link the tales together. A work of documentary character, with World War II as background, is Dora Bruder (1997; Dora Bruder, 1999) which builds on the true tale of a fifteen-year old girl in Paris who became one of the victims of the Holocaust. Among the works which most clearly reveal an autobiographical character one notes Un pedigree from 2005.
Some of Modiano's works have been translated into English, among them Les boulevards de ceinture (1972; Ring Roads : A Novel, 1974), Villa Triste (1975; Villa Triste, 1977), Quartier perdu (1984; A Trace of Malice, 1988) and Voyage de noces (1990; Honeymoon, 1992). His latest work is the novel Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier (2014). Modiano has also written children's books and film scripts. Together with the film director Louis Malle he made the feature movie Lacombe Lucien (1974), set during the German occupation of France.
Major works in English
Patrick Modiano
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2014 is awarded to the French author Patrick Modiano
“for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation”.
Patrick Modiano was born on July 30, 1945, in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris. His father was a businessman and his mother an actress. After leaving school, he studied at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. He took private lessons in geometry from Raymond Queneau, a writer who was to play a decisive role for his development. Already in 1968, Modiano made his debut as a writer with La place de l'étoile, a novel that attracted much attention.
Modiano's works centre on topics such as memory, oblivion, identity and guilt. The city of Paris is often present in the text and can almost be considered a creative participant in the works. Rather often his tales are built on an autobiographical foundation, or on events that took place during the German occupation. He sometimes draws material for his works from interviews, newspaper articles or his own notes accumulated over the years. His novels show an affinity with one another, and it happens that earlier episodes are extended or that persons recur in different tales. The author's hometown and its history often serve to link the tales together. A work of documentary character, with World War II as background, is Dora Bruder (1997; Dora Bruder, 1999) which builds on the true tale of a fifteen-year old girl in Paris who became one of the victims of the Holocaust. Among the works which most clearly reveal an autobiographical character one notes Un pedigree from 2005.
Some of Modiano's works have been translated into English, among them Les boulevards de ceinture (1972; Ring Roads : A Novel, 1974), Villa Triste (1975; Villa Triste, 1977), Quartier perdu (1984; A Trace of Malice, 1988) and Voyage de noces (1990; Honeymoon, 1992). His latest work is the novel Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier (2014). Modiano has also written children's books and film scripts. Together with the film director Louis Malle he made the feature movie Lacombe Lucien (1974), set during the German occupation of France.
Major works in English
Night Rounds / translated by Patricia Wolf. – New York : Knopf, 1971. – Translation of La ronde de nuit
Ring Roads : A Novel / translated by Caroline Hillier. – London : V. Gollancz, 1974. – Translation of Les boulevards de ceinture
Lacombe Lucien : The Complete Scenario of the Film / by Louis Malle and Patrick Modiano ; translated by Sabine Destrée. – New York : Viking Press, 1975. – Translation of Lacombe Lucien : scénario
Villa Triste / translated by Caroline Hillier. – London : V. Gollancz, 1977. – Translation of Villa Triste
Missing Person / translated by Daniel Weissbort. – London : Cape, 1980. – Translation of Rue des boutiques obscures
A Trace of Malice / translated by Anthea Bell. – Henley-on-Thames : A. Ellis, 1988. – Translation of Quartier perdu
Honeymoon / translated by Barbara Wright. – London: Harvill, 1992. – Translation of Voyage de noces
Out of the Dark = Du plus loin de l'oubli / translated by Jordan Stump. – Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 1998. – Translation of Du plus loin de l'oubli
Dora Bruder / translated by Joanna Kilmartin. – Berkeley : University of California Press, 1999. – Translation of Dora Bruder
Catherine Certitude / ill. by Jean-Jacques Sempé ; translated by William Rodarmor. – Boston : David R. Godine, 2000. – Translation of Catherine Certitude
The Search Warrant / translated by Joanna Kilmartin. – London : Harvill, 2000. – Translation of Dora Bruder
No comments:
Post a Comment