Terra Amata (novel)
Terra Amata is an early fictional novel by French Nobel laureate J. M. G. Le Clézio.
 First English edition | |
| Author | J. M. G. Le Clézio |
|---|---|
| Original title | Terra Amata |
| Translator | Barbara Bray |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Gallimard (France) Hamish Hamilton (UK) Atheneum (US) |
Publication date | 1967 |
Published in English | 1 January 1969 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback |
| Pages | 248 pp |
| ISBN | 2-07-023825-3 |
| OCLC | 248775313 |
Plot summary
Terra Amata is about a man named Chancelade, and his detailed view of an otherwise ordinary life,[1] from his early childhood to his grave.
Terra Amata is an archaeological site near the French town of Nice.
Critical reception
Terra Amata was perceived to center on the "perceptions and activities" of "its protagonist" Chancelade[2] The work seems to have been "designed to overload the senses"[3] According to one critic "Chancelade has done nothing, suffered nothing, experienced nothing to make him worth our regard."[4] The story is that of Chancelade, from childhood to death; he sees the world in minute detail..."[5]"Terra Amata," combines Le Clézio's game-playing as the author with a savage lyricism reminiscent of Thomas Hardy.[6]
References
- HILLEL ITALIE, Associated Press (10 October 2008). "Author Le Clézio wins Nobel". Toronto Star. Toronto. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
- Racevskis, Roland (1999). "J.M.G. LE CLEZIO'S TERRA AMATA: A MICRO-FICTIONAL AFFECTION FOR THE REAL". The Romanic Review. 90. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
The work centers on the perceptions and activities of its protagonist, Chancelade, whose pronounced interest in small, seemingly insignificant things leads him and the novel's narrator through numerous sensorial and contemplative adventures which yield unexpected insights on humankind's situation in the universe
- "J.M.G. Le Clézio: Terra Amata". Stewart. Booklit. 7 December 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
Le Clézio's delivery is a hyperreal tour de force, lush and dense, designed to overload the senses. His focus is on the minute, regularly picking up on grains of sand, pebbles on beaches, and insects in their nests, inverting the microscopic worlds they inhabit to cosmic concerns
- Lask, Thomas (3 April 1969). "9 October 2008 – Thursday". Quotes from the reviews of Le Clézio's books. The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
These adolescent outpourings sound like cries of woe between bites of eclair. There is nothing in the novel to indicate that Chancelade is worth listening to. He has done nothing, suffered nothing, experienced nothing to make him worth our regard.
- Lezard, Nicholas (20 December 2008). "Terra Amata The Nobel laureate as Martian". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
The story is that of Chancelade, from childhood to death; he sees the world in minute detail and ... er ... He talks with a girl his own age (12) after a swim and has a sort of rudimentary fumble with her.
- "A Nobel Undertaking: Getting to Know Le Clézio". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
But Mr. Le Clézio's most impressive book may be a brief one he published at age 27, when he was still a combative modernist. "Terra Amata," translated into English in 1967, combines his game-playing as the author with a savage lyricism reminiscent of Thomas Hardy.