Romain Gary, La Vie devant soi [The Life Before Us]

Vina Tirven-Gadum (Athabasca University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.07: French Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (Universidad de Antioquia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1975

Places

France (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

In the nineteen seventies, Romain Gary, a well-established French author, was at the height of his fame. He had already published twenty-four novels, many of which were best-sellers. He was a decorated war hero, a Chevalier de la légion d’honneur, and a French diplomat at the United Nations. He had also received the “Prix Goncourt” in 1956 for his novel Les Racines du ciel. He led a glamorous lifestyle in the upscale “7e arondissement” at la Rue du Bac in Paris; was married to the famous American film star Jean Seberg; and had many friends in Hollywood. Yet, despite all these outward signs of success, Romain Gary felt underappreciated as a writer. Wanting to reinvent himself, he published four novels under the …

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4439 words

Citation: Tirven-Gadum, Vina. "La Vie devant soi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 March 2014 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=32697, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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