Damien Malige's Debut Novel 'Province terminale' Published by Gallimard
Damien Malige's first novel 'Province terminale' has been published by L'Arpenteur / Gallimard. The autofictional work follows a teenage narrator through eight dated sequences from September to July during a final year of high school in an unspecified provincial town. The book draws structural elements from the teen movie genre, including school time, key locations, initiation themes, and soundtrack, but adopts a darker tone reminiscent of Alan Clarke and Greg Araki. The first third of the novel focuses on the narrator's involvement with skinheads and neo-Nazism, listening to industrial electronic music from the 1980s. However, the narrative maintains a detached perspective, and the central theme is the apocalyptic power of adolescence as a hypercritical age that reveals the impossibility of the contemporary world. The novel is compared to Georges Bataille's 'Le Bleu du ciel' and is recommended for those interested in literature engaging with the impossible.
Key facts
- Damien Malige's first novel 'Province terminale' is published by L'Arpenteur / Gallimard.
- The novel is autofictional and set during a final year of high school in an unspecified provincial town.
- The narrative is structured in eight dated sequences from September to July.
- It borrows structural elements from teen movies but adopts a darker tone.
- The first third of the book depicts the narrator's involvement with skinheads and neo-Nazism.
- The soundtrack includes industrial electronic music from the 1980s.
- The novel is compared to Georges Bataille's 'Le Bleu du ciel'.
- The central theme is the apocalyptic power of adolescence revealing the impossibility of the world.
Entities
Artists
- Damien Malige
- Georges Bataille
- Alan Clarke
- Greg Araki
Institutions
- L'Arpenteur
- Gallimard
Sources
- artpress —