Le clézio

1972 · 14667AB — 1972. New York Atheneum 1972. 8°. 319 pages. Original cloth with dustjacket in very good plus rather better condition. Rare FIRST American Edition. The jacket with few flaws but complete. The volume itself only with very few signs of use a little bit of foxing to the edge. Slightly crooked but overall a wonderful collectible. Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio born 4 April 1940 writing under the pen name J. M. G. Le Clézio is a French author and Nobel laureate. The author of over forty works he was awarded the 1963 prix Renaudot for his novel Le Procès-Verbal. Le Clézio has been writing since age seven; his first work was a book about the sea. After majoring in French literature he became well-known at age 23 with the publication of his first novel Le Procès-Verbal The Interrogation which was shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt and for which he was awarded the Prix Renaudot in 1963. Since then he has published more than thirty-six books including short stories novels essays two translations on the subject of Native American mythology prefaces and reviews as well as contributions to collective publications. He is also the author of several children's books. From 1963 to 1975 Le Clézio explored themes such as insanity language writing and devoted himself to formal experimentation in the wake of such contemporaries as Georges Perec or Michel Butor. His public image was that of an innovator and a rebel drawing praise from Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. In the late 1970s Le Clézio's style underwent a drastic change; he abandoned experimentation and the mood of his novels became less tormented as he broached themes like childhood adolescence and traveling which attracted a broader more popular audience. In 1980 Le Clézio was the first winner of the newly created Grand Prix Paul Morand awarded to Désert by the Académie Française.In 1994 a survey conducted by the French literary magazine Lire showed that 13 percent of the readers considered him to be the greatest living French language writer. Wikipedia hardcover