Regarded as one of his most ambitious works, Le Clézio’s autobiographical novel

was published in 2003 to widespread critical acclaim. The text encapsulates many of the core themes of the Nobel Prize winner’s writings whilst maintaining a highly poetic register. In a rich tapestry of tightly interwoven stories, two central narratives come to the fore. First, there is the journal of Jean Eudes Marro, loosely based on the life of Le Clézio’s ancestor, François Alexis Le Clézio, who, after fighting in the Revolutionary Wars, emigrated in 1798 to the French colony of Mauritius. Secondly, there is the story of Jean Marro, a fictionalised rendering of the author’s own experiences during the 1950s and 1960s. A rich pattern of interconnections is constructed between the…

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Citation: Martin, Bronwen. "Révolutions". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 June 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=26944, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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