saliotthomas
New Member
Le last time i read Vian was 20 years ago and i was amazed at the style and the ideas of is books.I sort of though i would,with the time,come across many a writer like him,but he remain a very special item.He could belong to the beat generation but without the attitude often attach to it.
I guess very few would have heard of him and it's just lately(mostly because of Stewart forum)that he came back to my mind and i fond English translations of his work.
So maybe it will interest some of you,anyway here are some links for information.
Boris Vian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and here Tam Tam Books
here what Tosh (the american publisher)says on Goodread
"It's kind of creepy to push one's book to the general public, but then again I just paid for it, I didn't write it! Somehow in English Vian slipped into the spaces of time. Whenever the names Camus or Sartre is mentioned, so should Vian's. He's not only a major writer, but also the key as well as the lock with respect to cool culture of Paris circ. 1947 to his death in 1959. A friend to the greats, who often said he was a great as well - plus a fantastic personality to hang out with"
The hearsnatcher is a great one
I pasted that from Amazon
The last novel Vian completed before his death in 1959, this whimsical, absurdist sendup of human foible takes place in a village where old people are auctioned off like slaves, villagers stone the vicar to produce rain and stallions are crucified for "falling into sin." The novel opens with willful Clementine deep in the throes of labor and furious about it. With her husband, Angel, locked in his room (from the outside), Clementine is rescued by Timortis, a traveling psychoanalyst, who helps her deliver triplets. Timortis befriends the browbeaten Angel (Clementine vows never to have sex with him again) and decides to stay on at the house. As a stranger to the country, he provides a window onto its bizarre customs-it is possible to pay someone to take on another person's shame, for example-even as he trolls the village looking for people to psychoanalyze. As the "heartsnatcher" of the title, Timortis has no feelings or desires of his own and embarks on a futile, hysterical quest for patients so he can "steal their feelings." His sole subject is a maid who thinks psychoanalysis is a euphemism for sex; she's happy to take off her clothes, but she refuses to talk about her feelings. The episodic, meandering narrative wanders from incident to incident, until Angel leaves Clementine, and she takes up child-rearing with unbridled abandon. Vian's sharp, playful humor makes for an entertaining read, although there are extended flat stretches. While the allegorical conceits may be something of an acquired taste, Vian's prose is surprisingly accessible, and his fascinating take on the strange logic of human cruelty and inconsistency makes this a worthwhile read.
Also I spit on your grave
pasted too
The story follows an African American man -who can pass as white- as he infiltrates the racist high society of a small town to gain revenge over the lynching of his youngest brother. It's a pretty ugly story and even now lives up to its controversy. Reminded me of Jim Thompon's THE KILLER INSIDE...but much darker
and a beautifull title Foam of the Daze
even more in French" l'ecume des jours"
I read it a long time ago but it's really worth a try.
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I guess very few would have heard of him and it's just lately(mostly because of Stewart forum)that he came back to my mind and i fond English translations of his work.
So maybe it will interest some of you,anyway here are some links for information.
Boris Vian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and here Tam Tam Books
here what Tosh (the american publisher)says on Goodread
"It's kind of creepy to push one's book to the general public, but then again I just paid for it, I didn't write it! Somehow in English Vian slipped into the spaces of time. Whenever the names Camus or Sartre is mentioned, so should Vian's. He's not only a major writer, but also the key as well as the lock with respect to cool culture of Paris circ. 1947 to his death in 1959. A friend to the greats, who often said he was a great as well - plus a fantastic personality to hang out with"
The hearsnatcher is a great one
I pasted that from Amazon
The last novel Vian completed before his death in 1959, this whimsical, absurdist sendup of human foible takes place in a village where old people are auctioned off like slaves, villagers stone the vicar to produce rain and stallions are crucified for "falling into sin." The novel opens with willful Clementine deep in the throes of labor and furious about it. With her husband, Angel, locked in his room (from the outside), Clementine is rescued by Timortis, a traveling psychoanalyst, who helps her deliver triplets. Timortis befriends the browbeaten Angel (Clementine vows never to have sex with him again) and decides to stay on at the house. As a stranger to the country, he provides a window onto its bizarre customs-it is possible to pay someone to take on another person's shame, for example-even as he trolls the village looking for people to psychoanalyze. As the "heartsnatcher" of the title, Timortis has no feelings or desires of his own and embarks on a futile, hysterical quest for patients so he can "steal their feelings." His sole subject is a maid who thinks psychoanalysis is a euphemism for sex; she's happy to take off her clothes, but she refuses to talk about her feelings. The episodic, meandering narrative wanders from incident to incident, until Angel leaves Clementine, and she takes up child-rearing with unbridled abandon. Vian's sharp, playful humor makes for an entertaining read, although there are extended flat stretches. While the allegorical conceits may be something of an acquired taste, Vian's prose is surprisingly accessible, and his fascinating take on the strange logic of human cruelty and inconsistency makes this a worthwhile read.
Also I spit on your grave
pasted too
The story follows an African American man -who can pass as white- as he infiltrates the racist high society of a small town to gain revenge over the lynching of his youngest brother. It's a pretty ugly story and even now lives up to its controversy. Reminded me of Jim Thompon's THE KILLER INSIDE...but much darker
and a beautifull title Foam of the Daze
even more in French" l'ecume des jours"
I read it a long time ago but it's really worth a try.
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