This is the first book-length study devoted to the work of Marie Darrieussecq, one of France s leading contemporary writers, whose work has proved fascinating to both critics and readers for its diversity, the author s seeming ability to evade established literary categories and the changes in focus of her trajectory. This volume focuses on this ambivalence, highlighting the capacity of Darrieussecq s texts both to confront contemporary social issues, such as national identity and the role of women, and examine the complex relationship between language and reality. Focusing on the mid-section...

This collection of essays maps and analyses the ways in which cultural texts of all kinds are used to respond to, engage with and challenge crises in the contemporary Francophone world.