Hervé Guibert's 'Le Mausolée des amants': A Barbaric and Delicate Work
Jacques Henric's editorial in art press reviews Hervé Guibert's posthumously published diary 'Le Mausolée des amants' (Gallimard), covering 1976-1991. Henric frames the work within Michel Leiris's concept of 'mise à nu' (laying bare) and Georges Bataille's 'inner experience', arguing that Guibert's raw confession of sexual and emotional obsessions embodies a literature that risks 'the bull's horn' of truth. The diary chronicles Guibert's complex relationship with T. and C., a trio involving love, sex, and later AIDS. Guibert and C. both contract AIDS and die six months apart; before his death, Guibert marries C. to make her his literary executor. Henric defends the work against moral condemnation, calling it 'barbaric and delicate', and suggests reading it 'as if it were a prayer'. The review emphasizes Guibert's focus on body, sex, and death, noting his indifference to external politics compared to earlier generations of writers.
Key facts
- Hervé Guibert's diary 'Le Mausolée des amants' covers 1976-1991.
- The diary was published posthumously by Gallimard.
- Guibert had a relationship with T. and C., a trio involving love and sex.
- Guibert and C. both died of AIDS, six months apart.
- Guibert married C. before his death to make her his literary executor.
- Jacques Henric wrote the editorial in art press.
- Henric references Michel Leiris's preface to 'L'Âge d'homme' (1946).
- Henric cites Georges Bataille's concept of 'inner experience'.
Entities
Artists
- Hervé Guibert
- Jacques Henric
- Michel Leiris
- Georges Bataille
- Charles Baudelaire
- Arthur Adamov
Institutions
- Gallimard
- art press
Sources
- artpress —