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The rapidity of postwar globalization and the structural changes it has brought to both social and spatial aspects of everyday life has meant, in France as elsewhere, the destabilizing of senses of place, identity, and belonging, as once familiar, local environments are increasingly de-localized and made porous to global trends and planetary preoccupations. Maps and Territories identifies such preoccupations as a fundamental underlying impetus for the contemporary French novel. Indeed, like France itself, the protagonists of its best fiction are constantly called upon to renegotiate their identity in order to maintain any sense of belonging within the troubled territories they call home. Maps and Territories reads today’s French novel for how it re-maps such territories, and for how it positions its protagonists vis-à-vis the pressures of globalization, uncovering previously unseen affinities amongst, and offering fresh readings of—and offering exciting new perspectives on—a diverse set of authors: namely, Michel Houellebecq, Chloé Delaume, Lydie Salvayre, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Virginie Despentes, Philippe Vasset, Jean Rolin, and Marie Darrieussecq. In the process, it sets the literary works into dialogue with a range of today’s most influential theorists of postmodernity and globalization, including Paul Virilio, Marc Augé, Peter Sloterdijk, Bruno Latour, Fredric Jameson, Edward Casey, David Harvey, and Ursula K. Heise.
The rapidity of postwar globalization and the structural changes it has brought to both social and spatial aspects of everyday life has meant, in France as elsewhere, the destabilizing of senses of place, identity, and belonging, as once familiar, local environments are increasingly de-localized and made porous to global trends and planetary preoccupations. Maps and Territories identifies such preoccupations as a fundamental underlying impetus for the contemporary French novel. Indeed, like France itself, the protagonists of its best fiction are constantly called upon to renegotiate their identity in order to maintain any sense of belonging within the troubled territories they call home. Maps and Territories reads today’s French novel for how it re-maps such territories, and for how it positions its protagonists vis-à-vis the pressures of globalization, uncovering previously unseen affinities amongst, and offering fresh readings of—and offering exciting new perspectives on—a diverse set of authors: namely, Michel Houellebecq, Chloé Delaume, Lydie Salvayre, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Virginie Despentes, Philippe Vasset, Jean Rolin, and Marie Darrieussecq. In the process, it sets the literary works into dialogue with a range of today’s most influential theorists of postmodernity and globalization, including Paul Virilio, Marc Augé, Peter Sloterdijk, Bruno Latour, Fredric Jameson, Edward Casey, David Harvey, and Ursula K. Heise.
Introduction
I. Watching the World Go By
Chapter One: Absolute Clarity: Michel Houellebecq’s La carte et le
territoire
Chapter Two: Dérive psychose géographique: Chloé Delaume’s J’habite
dans la télévision
II. Getting Up to Speed
Chapter Three: Planetary Ambitions: Lydie Salvayre’s Portrait de
l’écrivain en animal domestique
Chapter Four: Décalage Permanent: Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s
Fuir
III. Falling Through the Cracks
Chapter Five: A Tale of Two Frances: Virginie Despentes’s Vernon
Subutex Trilogy
Chapter Six: Deep Dérive: Philippe Vasset’s La conjuration
IV. Making Room
Chapter Seven: Asymmetrical Tactics: Jean Rolin’s Ormuz
Chapter Eight: Sense of Planet: Marie Darrieussecq’s Le pays
Conclusion
Works Cited
Joshua Armstrong is an Associate Professor of French in the Department of French & Italian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
'This book importantly addresses questions that are at the very
heart of contemporary debates about our relationship to space and
places in a world where borders and distance are being redefined by
the forces of globalization.'
Jean-Xavier Ridon, University of Nottingham
'Its wide-ranging corpus, ambitious scope, and nuanced readings
make Armstrong’s study an essential starting point for anyone
interested in the current state of contemporary French fiction, and
a persuasive account of the concerted way in which that fiction is
capturing the profound social, physical, and psychical effects of
globalization.'
Edward Welch, Modern Language Review
'[The book] provides insightful examples of how the French view
their own sense of belonging within the dynamics of new territories
and realities. [...] Maps and Territories is extremely useful for
scholars of contemporary French novels. His clear prose and
thoughtful commentary help explain the unease that a changing
postwar France experiences today. Thanks to Armstrong's thoughtful
analysis, we better understand pressures facing an ever-increasing
urbanized society in France and the world.'
Kory Olson, L'Esprit Créateur
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