DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Antonio Tabucchi: The Missing Head Of Damasceno Monteiro

**kilibry** · 09-25-2009, 11:52 PM

We are completely off-thread now, but did you read "Le Proc?s Verbal" (The Interrogation)? I think it was his very first book. It's waiting TBR on my shelf but so far I didn't dare touch it.

Yeah I know. I feel guilty too.

Mea Culpa. Mea Culpa.

The Interrogation won him the Prix Renaudot--a major literary prize. He was only 22--23 years old at the time. I liked it but one could get the sense of incompleteness with it--of a young writer trying to find his voice. I think he hit his stride in his next books--Fever, The Flood.

Going further off topic--as a comparison it reminds me of Halldor Laxness's first novel--The Great weaver of Kashmir which has recently been translated--where it seems to me that Laxness struggles with his story in the first half but then finds his voice and a direction in the second half and is able to bring it off. Le Clezio never seems to find the direction IMO in his Interrogation and so ultimately I would say it didn't live up to its potential and is maybe his weakest novel that I've read.

09-25-2009, 11:52 PM	#20
kilibry Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 485 Senior Member	We are completely off-thread now, but did you read "Le Proc?s Verbal" (The Interrogation)? I think it was his very first book. It's waiting TBR on my shelf but so far I didn't dare touch it. Yeah I know. I feel guilty too. Mea Culpa. Mea Culpa. The Interrogation won him the Prix Renaudot--a major literary prize. He was only 22--23 years old at the time. I liked it but one could get the sense of incompleteness with it--of a young writer trying to find his voice. I think he hit his stride in his next books--Fever, The Flood. Going further off topic--as a comparison it reminds me of Halldor Laxness's first novel--The Great weaver of Kashmir which has recently been translated--where it seems to me that Laxness struggles with his story in the first half but then finds his voice and a direction in the second half and is able to bring it off. Le Clezio never seems to find the direction IMO in his Interrogation and so ultimately I would say it didn't live up to its potential and is maybe his weakest novel that I've read.
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