Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This book offers an introduction to the post-war French roman noir from a cultural studies perspective. A populist and widely disseminated genre, the French roman noir has suffered from a reputation ...
More
This book offers an introduction to the post-war French roman noir from a cultural studies perspective. A populist and widely disseminated genre, the French roman noir has suffered from a reputation as a minor genre with its roots in American popular culture. The book challenges such preconceptions and examines how selected writers have appropriated the roman noir as a critical response to formative concerns and debates in post-war French society. Starting with the first truly French roman noir, Léo Malet's 120 rue de la gare (1943) and concluding with Maud Tabachnik's feminist thriller Un été pourri (1994), this book analyses both texts and film in relation to their specific historical and cultural context. From the heritage of the Second World War and France's wars of decolonisation to the rise of consumer culture and questions of gender and sexual equality, the roman noir operates in dialogue with its times, mediating social change and transformation with stories of crime, transgression, and marginality. All the novelists studied were published initially in popular collections, such as the Série noire, but they have been chosen for the innovation of their work and the exciting ways in which they resist tired conventions and offer new ways of representing social reality.Less
This book offers an introduction to the post-war French roman noir from a cultural studies perspective. A populist and widely disseminated genre, the French roman noir has suffered from a reputation as a minor genre with its roots in American popular culture. The book challenges such preconceptions and examines how selected writers have appropriated the roman noir as a critical response to formative concerns and debates in post-war French society. Starting with the first truly French roman noir, Léo Malet's 120 rue de la gare (1943) and concluding with Maud Tabachnik's feminist thriller Un été pourri (1994), this book analyses both texts and film in relation to their specific historical and cultural context. From the heritage of the Second World War and France's wars of decolonisation to the rise of consumer culture and questions of gender and sexual equality, the roman noir operates in dialogue with its times, mediating social change and transformation with stories of crime, transgression, and marginality. All the novelists studied were published initially in popular collections, such as the Série noire, but they have been chosen for the innovation of their work and the exciting ways in which they resist tired conventions and offer new ways of representing social reality.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the different critiques of the French roman noir and provides insights on the possible future of this literary genre.
This chapter discusses the different critiques of the French roman noir and provides insights on the possible future of this literary genre.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses several of the possible approaches towards roman noir and examines the narrative patterns and structures that are connected to roman noir. The cultural contexts where the ...
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This chapter discusses several of the possible approaches towards roman noir and examines the narrative patterns and structures that are connected to roman noir. The cultural contexts where the evolution of the roman noir occurred and its role in the history of French detective and crime fiction are also discussed.Less
This chapter discusses several of the possible approaches towards roman noir and examines the narrative patterns and structures that are connected to roman noir. The cultural contexts where the evolution of the roman noir occurred and its role in the history of French detective and crime fiction are also discussed.
Jean-Pierre Manchette
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198715153
- eISBN:
- 9780191694929
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198715153.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
This chapter discusses Black Exit to 68, which was the title of a collection of short stories about May by leading exponents of le roman noir and le polar, issued as part of the 20th anniversary ...
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This chapter discusses Black Exit to 68, which was the title of a collection of short stories about May by leading exponents of le roman noir and le polar, issued as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of May. Even though Le Monde gave it a mixed review, the films collections very existence is worthy of a discussion of the influence of May on it, and the magnitude of the subsequent influence of the thriller in France as a vehicle for social comment. The chapter also states that Jean-Patrick Manchete’s Nada was described as the ‘consecration du “neo-polar” genre sub-versify’, which was a renewal of the genre directly related to 1968 and the themes of the protest.Less
This chapter discusses Black Exit to 68, which was the title of a collection of short stories about May by leading exponents of le roman noir and le polar, issued as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of May. Even though Le Monde gave it a mixed review, the films collections very existence is worthy of a discussion of the influence of May on it, and the magnitude of the subsequent influence of the thriller in France as a vehicle for social comment. The chapter also states that Jean-Patrick Manchete’s Nada was described as the ‘consecration du “neo-polar” genre sub-versify’, which was a renewal of the genre directly related to 1968 and the themes of the protest.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the néo-polar, which was founded by Jean-Manchette, and how it was able to develop the French roman noir that set it apart from its American counterpart.
This chapter discusses the néo-polar, which was founded by Jean-Manchette, and how it was able to develop the French roman noir that set it apart from its American counterpart.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the developments of roman noir in French literature during the 1980s, as well as the works of Didier Daeninckx, specifically the Meurtres pour mémoire.
This chapter discusses the developments of roman noir in French literature during the 1980s, as well as the works of Didier Daeninckx, specifically the Meurtres pour mémoire.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the beginnings of the roman noir and the contribution of Léo Malet, who is considered as the father of French roman noir. One of Malet's works, the 120, rue de la Gare, is ...
More
This chapter discusses the beginnings of the roman noir and the contribution of Léo Malet, who is considered as the father of French roman noir. One of Malet's works, the 120, rue de la Gare, is discussed in the chapter as well.Less
This chapter discusses the beginnings of the roman noir and the contribution of Léo Malet, who is considered as the father of French roman noir. One of Malet's works, the 120, rue de la Gare, is discussed in the chapter as well.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the effects of immigration in France towards the French roman noir, and describes the status of French fiction during the 1980s.
This chapter discusses the effects of immigration in France towards the French roman noir, and describes the status of French fiction during the 1980s.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780719082658
- eISBN:
- 9781781704677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719082658.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines representations of the Resistance in early post-war French crime fiction. It begins by setting out the main features of the resistance epic so prevalent in France in the late ...
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This chapter examines representations of the Resistance in early post-war French crime fiction. It begins by setting out the main features of the resistance epic so prevalent in France in the late 1940s and early 1950s and how this ideal came to be embodied in the figure of the male resistance fighter. The chapter then examines narratives that contested such a vision of wartime heroism, focusing on the French roman noir. Finally, the chapter explores representations of resistance in the work of three French roman noir writers of this period, André Héléna, Léo Malet and Gilles Morris, all of whom presented resistance in a different light to the official discourse of national bravery and sacrifice. Their work reflects the mismatch between the Resistance as myth and the multiple histories and experiences of resisters as individuals.Less
This chapter examines representations of the Resistance in early post-war French crime fiction. It begins by setting out the main features of the resistance epic so prevalent in France in the late 1940s and early 1950s and how this ideal came to be embodied in the figure of the male resistance fighter. The chapter then examines narratives that contested such a vision of wartime heroism, focusing on the French roman noir. Finally, the chapter explores representations of resistance in the work of three French roman noir writers of this period, André Héléna, Léo Malet and Gilles Morris, all of whom presented resistance in a different light to the official discourse of national bravery and sacrifice. Their work reflects the mismatch between the Resistance as myth and the multiple histories and experiences of resisters as individuals.
Alan M. Wald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807835869
- eISBN:
- 9781469601502
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807837344_wald.5
- Subject:
- Literature, American, 20th Century Literature
This chapter considers the efforts of the poet and novelist Kenneth Fearing to fashion literary forms appropriate to the postwar mood. Fearing, foremost Communist poet of the Great Depression, forged ...
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This chapter considers the efforts of the poet and novelist Kenneth Fearing to fashion literary forms appropriate to the postwar mood. Fearing, foremost Communist poet of the Great Depression, forged a new radical sensibility in the following decade with his noir thrillers such as The Big Clock (1946), a psychosexual roman noir stressing the sinister effect of market segmentation in the publishing industry.Less
This chapter considers the efforts of the poet and novelist Kenneth Fearing to fashion literary forms appropriate to the postwar mood. Fearing, foremost Communist poet of the Great Depression, forged a new radical sensibility in the following decade with his noir thrillers such as The Big Clock (1946), a psychosexual roman noir stressing the sinister effect of market segmentation in the publishing industry.
