Aragon's Late Novels in Pléiade: Freedom, Confusion, and Censorship

The fifth volume of Louis Aragon's complete novels in the Pléiade collection (Gallimard) covers his later works, including "La Mise à mort," "Blanche ou l'oubli," and "Théâtre / Roman," alongside lesser-known texts like "Le Mentir-vrai." Edited by Daniel Bougnoux and Jean Ristat, the volume marks a shift from the "Monde réel" cycle to a more autobiographical, self-reflexive mode where the author's "je" intrudes into the narrative. Aragon rejected traditional autobiography, arguing that truth is reached through lies—a concept he termed "mentir-vrai." The publication is accompanied by two critical works: Bougnoux's "Aragon, la confusion des genres" and Philippe Forest's "Vertige d'Aragon." Bougnoux revealed during a CNL event on October 22, 2012, that Ristat, Aragon's literary executor, censored an entire chapter from his book, titled "Pour ne pas oublier Castille." The full censored chapter is published on artpress.com. The article, originally from artpress issue 193 (July-August 1994), includes an interview with Aragon from September 1967.