Adam Johnson's 'Des parasites comme nous' Reviewed
Yan Ciret reviews Adam Johnson's novel 'Des parasites comme nous' (Éditions Denoël), framing it as an exploration of American expansion and its destructive consequences. The story follows Hank Hannah, a heretical paleontology professor whose book 'Les Exterminateurs' argued that the first Clovis invaders destroyed everything in their path. He is joined by Eggers, a man living as a prehistoric tribesman, and Trudy, a feminist extremist. The novel draws parallels to Dante's 'Divine Comedy', with excavations of 'Keno' (the first woman), imprisonment for challenging official history, and a virus released from her remains causing an epidemic. Ciret notes the novel's debt to Daniel Defoe's 'Journal of the Plague Year' and its anthropological questioning of who decides humanity's origin and end. The review critiques the novel's sentimental heaviness but praises its final hundred pages on the epidemic as gripping.
Key facts
- Adam Johnson's novel 'Des parasites comme nous' is published by Éditions Denoël.
- The protagonist is Hank Hannah, a paleontology professor.
- Hannah wrote 'Les Exterminateurs', arguing Clovis invaders destroyed America.
- Characters include Eggers (first man) and Trudy (last woman).
- The novel references Dante's 'Divine Comedy' and Defoe's 'Journal of the Plague Year'.
- The plot involves excavation of 'Keno', the first woman, and a virus.
- The review is by Yan Ciret.
- The novel was reviewed in artpress in October 2006.
Entities
Artists
- Adam Johnson
- Yan Ciret
Institutions
- Éditions Denoël
- artpress
Sources
- artpress —