Camera - (French Literature) by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this improbable love story, Toussaint creates a character who is obsessed with himself: how he does things and all the ways he might have done them, how he thinks, why he thinks the way that he thinks, how he might do or think otherwise. What happens? He takes driving lessons, goes grocery shopping, spends endless hours with an adorable employee of the driving school he attends. And though he is aloof, though caught up in his own actions and in the movement of his own thoughts--he somehow emerges as surprisingly insightful and also very funny. In Toussaint's touching novel, we come to know this character intimately and yet know almost nothing about him. These two extremes, existing together, are at the heart of Toussaint's remarkable style.

Review Quotes

"That Camera should have waited 20 years to find an English-language publisher is scandalous . . . this version admirably renders the frankness that makes Toussaint so alluring."-- Tom McCarthy, New York Times

About the Author

Jean-Philippe Toussaint is the author of nine novels, and the winner of
numerous literary prizes, including the Prix Decembre for The Truth
about Marie. His writing has been compared to the works of Samuel
Beckett, Jacques Tati, the films of Jim Jarmusch, and even Charlie
Chaplin.

Matthew B. Smith is a literary translator and an assistant professor at Northern Illinois University. His translations include Camera, Running Away, and The Truth About Marie by Jean-Philippe Toussaint.