Reinhard Jirgl's 'Renégat' Breaks Narrative Linearity with Typographic Experimentation
Reinhard Jirgl's second novel translated into French, 'Renégat, roman du temps nerveux', employs a tabular model of textual language, opposing classical linear narrative. The book features framed blocks, arrowed cross-references, underlined syntagms, and nested words to create a mobile stratification of story and meaning. Jirgl addresses themes of life, death, sex, borders (the narrator is a border guard), emigration, housing difficulties, poverty, real estate speculation, urban drift, and hatred. The novel spans from Hamburg to Berlin, described as an experience of gray and murkiness. Olivier Renault reviews the work in artpress, praising its verbal brilliance and comparing it to a dazzling verbal altarpiece.
Key facts
- Reinhard Jirgl's second novel translated into French is 'Renégat, roman du temps nerveux'.
- The novel uses a tabular model of textual language, breaking linear narrative.
- Julia Kristeva opposed the classical linear model with the tabular model.
- Authors like Maurice Roche, Denis Roche, William Gass, and Mark Z. Danielewski have also broken narrative linearity.
- The novel includes framed blocks, arrowed cross-references, underlined syntagms, and nested words.
- Themes include life, death, sex, borders, emigration, housing, poverty, real estate speculation, urban drift, and hatred.
- The narrator works as a border guard for a time.
- The story is set between Hamburg and Berlin.
- The review was written by Olivier Renault for artpress.
- The novel is described as a 'dazzling verbal altarpiece'.
Entities
Artists
- Reinhard Jirgl
- Julia Kristeva
- Maurice Roche
- Denis Roche
- William Gass
- Mark Z. Danielewski
- Olivier Renault
Institutions
- artpress
Locations
- Hamburg
- Berlin
- Germany
- France
Sources
- artpress —