Corinne Aguzou's novel brings Rosa Luxemburg, Janis Joplin, and Margaret Thatcher together on stage
Corinne Aguzou's novel "Les rêves de l'histoire" (Éditions Tristram) presents a burlesque political fiction where three iconic figures—Rosa Luxemburg, Janis Joplin, and Margaret Thatcher—return as specters to perform in a play about 20th-century Europe. The story unfolds in a suburban theater on Avenue Lénine, where the characters defend their legacies and debate their influence on 21st-century chaos. Thatcher, arriving from London, traverses Paris by taxi amid striking workers, her iconic hairdo disrupted, symbolizing the unraveling of neoliberalism. Joplin, returning from a West Coast interstellar trip, plans a new album "21 in love" and promotes a love revolution. Luxemburg, back from Poland, questions whether her 1919 assassination was in vain and insists on collective rather than heroic representation. The novel blends historical truth and counter-truth, using burlesque to express a European malaise over lost revolutionary dreams. Aguzou's work is a political burlesque that interrogates ideological chimeras through layered narratives, citations, and absurd situations.
Key facts
- Corinne Aguzou wrote the novel "Les rêves de l'histoire".
- Published by Éditions Tristram.
- The novel features Rosa Luxemburg, Janis Joplin, and Margaret Thatcher as characters.
- The setting is a suburban theater on Avenue Lénine.
- Thatcher travels from London to Paris by taxi.
- Paris streets are filled with striking workers.
- Thatcher's hairdo is damaged in a taxi accident.
- Joplin plans an album titled "21 in love".
- Luxemburg questions the survival of revolutionary ideals.
- The novel is described as burlesque political fiction.
Entities
Artists
- Corinne Aguzou
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Janis Joplin
- Margaret Thatcher
- Léon Moussinac
- Saint Augustine
Institutions
- Éditions Tristram
Locations
- France
- Paris
- London
- Poland
- Avenue Lénine
Sources
- artpress —