A maverick, uncompromising and contradictory figure throughout his writing career, Céline found a wide readership with his first novel, Voyage au bout de la nuit [Journey to the End of the Night] (1932). Although his approach would steadily evolve over thirty years, Voyage contains many of Céline’s basic and recurring preoccupations, and remains the primary reference point in most discussions of his writing. This episodic narrative follows its protagonist, Ferdinand Bardamu, halfway around the world from his pre-war starting point in the place Clichy and then back, in the 1920s, to a France no longer engaged in military conflict but increasingly menaced by economic …
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Citation: Shorley, Chris. "Louis-Ferdinand Céline". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 March 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=803, accessed 21 November 2024.]
