Debate on Nihilism in Contemporary French Novels

In response to Philippe Forest's text 'Le roman, le rien' published in art press issue 244, Guy Scarpetta continues the debate on nihilism in the contemporary novel. He argues that the new orthodoxy is one of absolute anti-modernity, systematically hating the new, and taking a more radical position than merely revisiting aesthetic values discarded by postmodernity. This orthodoxy forbids, in the name of art, any critical spirit toward the theses defended in a thesis novel, a disguised essay. This postulate of the writer's absolute innocence, placed beyond discussion, flagrantly benefits writers like Michel Houellebecq.