Autoportrait

In this brilliant and sobering self-portrait, Édouard Levé hides nothing from his readers, setting out his entire life, more or less at random, in a string of declarative sentences. Autoportrait is a physical, psychological, sexual, political, and philosophical triumph. Beyond'sincerity,'Levé works toward an objectivity so radical it could pass for crudeness, triviality, even banality: the author has stripped himself bare. With the force of a set of maxims or morals, Levé's prose seems at first to be an autobiography without sentiment, as though written by a machine—until, through the accumulation of detail, and the author's dry, quizzical tone, we find ourselves disarmed, enthralled, and enraptured by nothing less than the perfect fiction... made entirely of facts. Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award in 2013. "The British novelist and critic Christine Brooke-Rose (born 1923) is increasingly being regarded as one of the most significant writers of the contemporary period. In her dozen novels she has explored themes as diverse as bilingualism (as a metaphor for alienation) and the influence of computer technology on the humanities. As these themes suggest, Brook-Rose is sometimes perceived as a "difficult" writer, especially given the dazzling virtuosity of the linguistic wordplay that enlivens her later novels. Utterly Other Discourse (a phrase from her 1984 novel Amalgamemnon) provides a valuable introduction to her work. In fifteen essays (some previously published, some written for this book) scholars from America, England, and Europe examine her work from a variety of critical angles. Also included is the opening chapter from Brooke-Rose's forthcoming autobiographical novel, Remake, offering a rare look at the woman behind the texts."--Jacket In this brilliant and sobering self-portrait, Edouard Levé hides nothing from his readers, setting out his entire life, more or less at random, in a string of declarative sentences. Autoportrait is a physical, psychological, sexual, political, and philosophical triumph. Beyond "sincerity," Levé works toward an objectivity so radical it could pass for crudeness, triviality, even banality: the author has stripped himself bare. With the force of a set of maxims or morals, Levé's prose seems at first to be an autobiography without sentiment, as though written by a machine—until, through the accumulation of detail, and the author's dry, quizzical tone, we find ourselves disarmed, enthralled, and enraptured by nothing less than the perfect fiction . . . made entirely of facts. A work of autobiographical fiction recounts the author's life in a string of objective, declarative, and unrelated sentences Edouard Leve ; Translated By Lorin Stein. Originally Published In French As Autoportrait By P.o.l. Editeur, 2005. A brilliant and sobering self-portrait made up entirely of facts, and a companion to the harrowing book Suicide