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Post by spindrift on Jun 13, 2009 18:54:38 GMT
At last I have made the acquaintance of Florian Zeller (b. 1979) French literary 'idol'; enfant terrible of the Left Bank who has written 4 novels and 3 plays. At my library I picked up his book 'The Fascination of Evil' ( La Fascination du Pire) and devoured it in an afternoon of addictive reading. This book is said to deal with the decline of morals in both Islamic nations and the West. The story begins with two French writers flying to Cairo to attend a bookfair; one, the narrator, is in a happy relationship with a girlfriend but the other is seeking the thrill of illicit paid-for sex, supposedly following in the footsteps of Flaubert who found sensual delights in Egypt. Much has changed since those days and now any sex, other than married sex, is illegal and even dangerous to pursue. The story unfolds over the three days covering the bookfair. Hunting for prostitutes becomes an obsession and difficulties ensue. Gradually references to Islam are introduced and enlarged upon until finally, in the grand denouement, it becomes clear that the author's main preoccupation is the idea that Islam will eventually overtake the whole of Europe and those who can afford to leave will flee to the last bastion of 'freedom' - the United States. I am now going to read two more of Mr Zeller's novels. Here is his picture. He looks like my son.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2009 19:01:33 GMT
I quite like the way Zeller writes, but all of my friends despise him. La Fascination du Pire was excellent.
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Post by spindrift on Jun 13, 2009 19:21:05 GMT
Please tell me why they despise him...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2009 19:28:27 GMT
I think it is along the lines of "young wonderkids are automatically horrible".
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Post by spindrift on Jun 13, 2009 19:31:16 GMT
That's ridiculous (if I may say so)....he writes, more or less, exactly how I think! that is, in a realistic and slightly depressive way.
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Post by spindrift on Jun 14, 2009 20:40:59 GMT
ARTIFICIAL SNOW - a short novel written by Florian Zeller when he was still at University.
I read this in an afternoon.
This novel is centred on the narrator's love for Lou, a woman with whom he had a brief relationship and who has now become an obsession. When his dreams of rekinding their lost love and of living happily ever after, seem impossible, he imagines instead wrecking the worst acts of vengeance against her.
Although brilliantly written, this short work cannot be compared with the masterly 'The Fascination with Evil'...
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Post by hwinpp on Jun 22, 2009 11:12:56 GMT
Is he the guy who wrote that book about the holocaust through an SS man's eyes?
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Post by spindrift on Jun 22, 2009 20:56:53 GMT
I really don't think he did. I am now starting to read his Lovers or Something Like It.
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