Michel Tournier (1924–2016)

El rey de los alisos
Michel Tournier
Publicado: 1970 | 322 páginas
Novela Drama Histórico

«El rey de los alisos», la novela con la que Michel Tournier obtuvo el Premio Goncourt, narra la historia de Abel Tiffauges, un extraño prisionero francés en la Alemania del III Reich, mezcla de ogro depredador y adolescente perverso, que se siente predestinado para llevar a cabo una misión en Prusia, cuna legendaria de la nación alemana. El celebrado autor de «Medianoche de amor» nos muestra aquí lo más oculto, tierno y enfermizo del ser humano, siempre en busca de significados, ritos y señales que le guíen y rediman de su condición de ser para la muerte. Fantasía insólita sobre los tiempos tenebrosos de la última guerra mundial, este libro constituye un extraordinario viaje hacia la infancia y un inquietante ensayo sobre el amor.… (more)

Michel Tournier, lindur në Paris më 1924. Është mbiquajtur "Kontrabandisti i Filozofisë" meqë u rrek të kalonte Platonin, Spinozën dhe Kantin në botën e historive dhe rrëfimeve. Ka jetuar në Vallèe de Chevreuse pranë Parisit. Për këtë roman është vlerësuar me Çmimin Grand Prix të Akademisë Franceze në 1967; Çmimin Goncourt (1970) për romanin "Mbreti i Verrishtave"; Anëtar i Akademisë Goncourt (1972) dhe Medalja Goethe (1993). Konsiderohet si një nga prozatorët më të mëdhenj me inspirim metafizik të gjysmës së dytë të shekullit XX.… (more)

Where J M Coetzee's Foe is a playful reworking of the Robinson Crusoe story informed by late-20th-century ideas about gender, colonialism, and how narratives are created, Tournier's version is — as you might expect — a philosophical exploration of where the solitary castaway stands in a post-Sartre world in which "hell is other people". Does the world have any existence outside our own perceptions if there are no other people to challenge those perceptions?

Tournier starts out with a fairly straightforward recap of Defoe's picture of the indefatigable British capitalist gritting his teeth to re-create all the elements of a productive economy — except sexuality — on his uninhabited island, then gradually subverts it, as Robinson becomes obsessed with the technology of production and creates vast excesses of agricultural products he has no use or market for. And of course his Robinson is not an asexual being like Defoe's, but finds himself experimenting with various kinds of sexual relationship with the island of Speranza herself. What could be more 1960s than X-certificate tree-hugging..?

Robinson's rescue of Friday from the human sacrifice he's been designated for is an accident — Robinson has already made the rational decision to side with the stronger party, but his bullet goes astray — but the entry of this new person into the island is the key moment in Robinson's philosophical release from his previous life. Friday starts out as the willing slave, but he has something Robinson lacks, being prepared to commit himself to projects without a utilitarian purpose — in particular, to create playful works of art. This ends up transforming the way both of them see the world. It liberates Friday to return to a new life as a full-fledged adult, and it brings Robinson into a meaningful spiritual communion with the island, free from his capitalist baggage.… (more)

In this literary masterpiece Tournier explores every possible aspect of twinship. He does not just talk about human twins, but also the duality between countries, between the long day and night in Iceland, in homosexual relationships, the balance achieved in oneness a Zen garden, etc.. Despite the fact that the story may seem a little farfetched it is spellbinding and full of unexpected twists.
This is not an easy read in composition , characterization, writing style and philosophy, but I enjoyed in and it meant a lot to me.… (more)