From The Dispersion to The Broken Book – representations of absence and lacking, by Serge Doubrovsky Cover Image

Représentations de l’absence et du manque : de La Dispersion au Livre brisé de Serge Doubrovsky
From The Dispersion to The Broken Book – representations of absence and lacking, by Serge Doubrovsky

Author(s): Nurit Levy
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Studies of Literature, Comparative Study of Literature, French Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Instytut Filologii Romańskiej & Wydawnictwo Werset
Keywords: autofiction; Shoah literature; testimony; memory; history

Summary/Abstract: Author and academic, Serge Doubrovsky is an important figure in contemporary French literature. His numerous publications foretell the emergence of a new literary concept, positioning him in the domain of post-modernism with the emergence of auto-fiction. From The Dispersion to The Broken Book, the auto-fiction unfolds in a jerky narrative while the genesis of the work revolves around a profound sense of lack and absence that the writer tries to fill through his writing. The experience of World War II left a life long indelible mark on the writer’s own identity and brings forth the creation of this hybrid autobiography that aims at tearing down generic and literary boundaries. Letters and words are used to confront what is missing in his life in a transgressing style that describes the violence of this experience. In this way, Doubrovsky leaves a trace of his existence, transforming his life into a novel – a work of fiction – and by giving space to imagination when telling his own story.

  • Issue Year: 2011
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 111-121
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: French