Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Voyage au bout de la nuit [Journey to the End of the Night]

Agnes Hafez-Ergaut (University of Tasmania)

Ed. by David Houston Jones, University of Exeter
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.06: French Writing and Culture: Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1932

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Words and their power: here is the essence of Céline’s

Voyage au bout de la nuit

. Between the first sentences of the novel: “Ça a débuté comme ça. Moi, j’avais jamais rien dit” [It started like that. I had never said anything before”] (Céline 1952, 15) and the last phrase “qu’on en parle plus” (632) [Let’s no longer talk about it], a tidal wave of words triggers the unfolding of the adventures of Ferdinand Bardamu through his voyage “on the other side of life”. These words are imprudently released by Arthur Ganate, Bardamu’s friend, who convinces him to voice his opinion and thus set in motion the seemingly unstoppable diabolical and destructive flow that traps him into doing things he regrets. At the end of the night, a new dawn appears while the narrator…

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3195 words

Citation: Hafez-Ergaut, Agnes. "Voyage au bout de la nuit". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 October 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11555, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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