Éric Laurrent's 'Les découvertes': A Comic Novel of Sexual Discovery

Éric Laurrent publishes his tenth novel with Éditions de Minuit, 'Les découvertes', a comic and elegant account of his journey from adolescent awkwardness to sexual awakening. The narrative traces his childhood and teenage years in Clermont-Ferrand, where early encounters with art—a reproduction of Jacques-Louis David's 'The Sabine Women' in a family dictionary—and later with a stripper at a fair, stolen porn magazines, the provocative poster for 'Emmanuelle', and several failed relationships (due to crippling shyness) all lead to what he calls 'the miracle' of losing his virginity, aided coincidentally by the Devaquet education bill and CRS riot police. Laurrent also reveals how his vocation as a writer emerged. The novel is praised for its rich, labyrinthine language and distanced comic elegance, turning embarrassment into art.