Frédéric Pajak's 'La guerre sexuelle' Blends Text and Drawing

Frédéric Pajak, known for inventing a genre of 'written and drawn narratives,' publishes his first novel, 'La guerre sexuelle' (Éditions Gallimard). The book follows narrator Bobèche (real name Maurice) and his tumultuous relationship with his wife Auque, beginning with a threesome with Nanette and descending into marital strife, parenthood, and encounters with a degenerate aristocrat and pedophile, Lothaire de Maud'hui. Pajak's signature style integrates drawings that carry narrative weight, not merely illustrating text. The novel's incipit, 'Je suis un homme d'aujourd'hui, c'est-à-dire une couille molle,' echoes themes of sexual misery found in Houellebecq and Richard Millet. Pajak also directs the review 'Cahier dessiné' (Buchet-Chastel), featuring artists like Sempé, Saul Steinberg, Munch, Topor, and Alechinsky. His previous works include 'Martin Luther, l'inventeur de la solitude,' 'L'Immense solitude' (on Nietzsche and Pavese), 'Le Chagrin d'amour' (on Apollinaire), and 'Humour' (on James Joyce, co-written with Yves Tenret).