Books by Edouard Levé

Newspaper (French Literature)

by Edouard Levé

In Newspaper, Edouard Levé’s second “novel,” the acclaimed writer, photographer, and artist made perhaps his most radical attempt to remove himself from his own work.Made up of fictionalized newspaper articles, arranged according to broad sections—some familiar, some not—Newspaper gives us a tour of the modern world as reported by its supposedly impartial chroniclers. Much of this "news" is quite sad, some is funny, but the whole serves as a gory parody of the way we have been taught to see our lives and the lives of our fellow human beings.

Autoportrait

by Jesse Ball, Edouard Levé, Edouard Lev, Aedouard Levae

In this brilliant and sobering self-portrait, Édouard Levé hides nothing from his readers, setting out his entire life, more or less at random, in a string of declarative sentences.
Autoportrait is a physical, psychological, sexual, political, and philosophical triumph. Beyond "sincerity," Levé works toward an objectivity so radical it could pass for crudeness, triviality, even banality: the author has stripped himself bare. With the force of a set of maxims or morals, Levé's prose seems at first to be an autobiography without sentiment, as though written by a machine—until, through the accumulation of detail, and the author's dry, quizzical tone, we find ourselves disarmed, enthralled, and enraptured by nothing less than the perfect fiction... made entirely of facts. Shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award in 2013.

Autoportrait

by Jesse Ball, Edouard Levé, Edouard Lev, Aedouard Levae

"Adolescent, je croyais que La Vie mode d'emploi m'aiderait à vivre, et Suicide mode d'emploi à mourir. J'ai passé trois ans et trois mois à l'étranger. Un de mes amis jouit dans la trahison. J'oublie ce qui me déplaît. J'ai peut-être parlé sans le savoir avec quelqu'un qui a tué quelqu'un. Je vais regarder dans les impasses. Ce qu'il y a au bout de la vie ne me fait pas peur. Je n'écoute pas vraiment ce qu'on me dit. J'ai parlé à Salvado Dalí à l'âge de deux ans. Décrire précisément ma vie me prendrait plus de temps que la vivre. La date de naissance qu'indique ma carte d'identité est fausse. Je ne sais pas sur qui j'ai de l'influence. Je parle à mes objets lorsqu'ils sont tristes. Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'écris. Je suis calme dans les retrouvailles. Je n'ai rien contre le réveillon. Quinze ans est le milieu de ma vie, quelle que soit la date de ma mort. Je crois qu'il y a une vie après la vie, mais pas une mort après la mort. Je ne demande pas si on m'aime. Je ne pourrai dire qu'une fois sans mentir "je meurs". Le plus beau jour de ma vie est peut-être passé."

Autoportrait

by Jesse Ball, Edouard Levé, Edouard Lev, Aedouard Levae

Nominated for the Chicago Review of Books Award

A work of unflinching honesty, Autoportrait is a hypnotic memoir of reflection, loss, and everyday joy from one of America's best contemporary novelists

Jesse Ball has produced fourteen acclaimed works of deeply empathetic absurdism in poetry and fiction. Now, he offers readers his first memoir, one that showcases his “humane curiosity” (James Wood) and invites the reader into a raw and personal account of love, grief, and memory. Inspired by the memoir Édouard Levé put to paper shortly before his death, Autoportrait is an extraordinarily frank and intimate work from one of America's most brilliant authors.

The subtle power of Ball's voice conjures the richness of everyday life. On each page, half-remembered moments are woven together with the joys and triumphs—and the mistakes and humiliations, too—that somehow tell us who we are, why we are here. Held at the same height as tragic accounts of illness or death are moments of startling beauty, banality, or humor: "I wake in the morning, I sit, I walk long distances. If there is somewhere to swim, I may swim. If I have a bicycle, I will ride it, especially to meet someone. There is no more preparing for me to do, other than preparing for death, and I do that by laughing. Not laughing at death, of course. Laughing at myself."

An extraordinary memoir that reminds us what is possible and builds to the kind of power one might feel reading Anne Carson's Glass Essay, or Joe Brainard's I Remember. Autoportrait will leave you feeling utterly invigorated, inspired, and a little afraid.

Suicide (Folio) (French Edition)

by Edouard Levé

Suicide cannot be read as simply another novel it is, in a sense, the author 's own oblique, public suicide note, a unique meditation on this most extreme of refusals. Presenting itself as an investigation into the suicide of a close friend perhaps real, perhaps fictional more than twenty years earlier, Lev gives us, little by little, a striking portrait of a man, with all his talents and flaws, who chose to reject his life, and all the people who loved him, in favor of oblivion. Gradually, through Lev 's casually obsessive, pointillist, beautiful ruminations, we come to know a stoic, sensible, thoughtful man who bears more than a slight psychological resemblance to Lev himself. But Suicide is more than just a compendium of memories of an old friend; it is a near-exhaustive catalog of the ramifications and effects of the act of suicide, and a unique and melancholy farewell to life.

Journal

by Edouard Levé

From the Back Cover


C'est un journal : terrorisme, guerre civile, guerre, dictature, catastrophe, diplomatie, politique, économie politique, agriculture, manifestation, religion, people, vie sociale, vie locale, transport, accident, médias, justice, homicide, suicide, viol, pédophilie, drogue, vol, folie, économie, entreprise, bourse, science, technologie, annonce immobilière, annonce de décès, annonce de naissance, offre d'emploi, météo, sport, littérature, art, musique, théâtre, danse, cinéma, télévision.

Suicide (French Literature)

by Edouard Levé

Suicide cannot be read as simply another novel―it is, in a sense, the author’s own oblique, public suicide note, a unique meditation on this most extreme of refusals.
Presenting itself as an investigation into the suicide of a close friend―perhaps real, perhaps fictional―more than twenty years earlier, Levé gives us, little by little, a striking portrait of a man, with all his talents and flaws, who chose to reject his life, and all the people who loved him, in favor of oblivion. Gradually, through Levé’s casually obsessive, pointillist, beautiful ruminations, we come to know a stoic, sensible, thoughtful man who bears more than a slight psychological resemblance to Levé himself. But Suicide is more than just a compendium of memories of an old friend; it is a near-exhaustive catalog of the ramifications and effects of the act of suicide, and a unique and melancholy farewell to life.

Edouard Leve: Works (French Literature)

by Edouard Levé

"Originally published in French as Oeuvres by P.O.L diteur, Paris, 2002."

Suicide

by Edouard Levé

Suicide cannot be read as simply another novel--it is, in a sense, the author's own oblique, public suicide note, a unique meditation on this most extreme of refusals.

Presenting itself as an investigation into the suicide of a close friend--perhaps real, perhaps fictional--more than twenty years earlier, Levé gives us, little by little, a striking portrait of a man, with all his talents and flaws, who chose to reject his life, and all the people who loved him, in favor of oblivion. Gradually, through Levé's casually obsessive, pointillist, beautiful ruminations, we come to know a stoic, sensible, thoughtful man who bears more than a slight psychological resemblance to Levé himself. But Suicide is more than just a compendium of memories of an old friend; it is a near-exhaustive catalog of the ramifications and effects of the act of suicide, and a unique and melancholy farewell to life.