Louis Calaferte's Posthumous Notebooks Reveal Radical Literary Reflections

A new volume of Louis Calaferte's notebooks, 'Traversées Carnets XII', has been published by L'Arpenteur-Gallimard, covering his reflections from 1990. In that year, Calaferte suffered a head injury that weakened him four years before his death. The notebooks revisit his childhood and lack of love, noting the harsh discipline around him that led to his own self-directed severity. During this period, two of his books were published: 'L'Incarnation' (1987), which remained unread, and 'La Mécanique des femmes' (1992), whose success he attributed to a fundamental misunderstanding. The notebooks invoke Musil for narrative research, discuss the evolving language in society, and offer sharp perceptions of contemporary painting. Calaferte also reflects on the erasure of writer Jouhandeau, inner freedom from social conventions, and the mediocrity of the masses as denounced by Kierkegaard. He engages with Tolstoy's notes, finding parallels between Tolstoy's era and his own. Among his vast readings, he repeatedly notes Kafka's irony and records bizarre current events. The writer explores metaphysical experience akin to Rozanov and laments the devaluation of literature by fake books and artists. Patrick Amine contributes to the volume.