Démolir Nisard
Encyclopedia
Démolir Nisard is a 2006 novel by the French
writer Eric Chevillard
.
, a French
author
and critic
(1806–1888).
One of the characteristics of Nisard that so infuriates Chevillard's narrator is the fact that the critic so loathed the burgeoning modern French literature
of his times. As Nisard considered that only classicism
had a value, Chevillard's book can also be considered a form of meta-criticism upon contemporary trends in Literary criticism
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Eric Chevillard
Éric Chevillard
Éric Chevillard, is a French novelist. He has won awards for several novels including La nébuleuse du crabe in 1993, which won the Fénéon Prize for Literature....
.
Plot summary
The book is about the struggle of the narrator (who seems very much like the author himself) to annihilate Désiré NisardDésiré Nisard
Jean Marie Napoléon Désiré Nisard was a French author and critic. He was born at Châtillon-sur-Seine.In 1826 he joined the staff of the Journal des Débats, but subsequently transferred his pen to the National...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
(1806–1888).
One of the characteristics of Nisard that so infuriates Chevillard's narrator is the fact that the critic so loathed the burgeoning modern French literature
French literature of the 19th century
19th-century French literature concerns the developments in French literature during a dynamic period in French history that saw the rise of Democracy and the fitful end of Monarchy and Empire...
of his times. As Nisard considered that only classicism
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
had a value, Chevillard's book can also be considered a form of meta-criticism upon contemporary trends in Literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
.
Quotes
- "Rejoignez-moi. Mettons-nous à plusieurs ... contre tous les Nisard de la terre pour qui ...la littérature est un bien triste missel, une école de résignation. Le lecteur y vient tête basse entendre des sermons et des réprimandes ... La folie, la fantaisie, la satire, la hargne et le défi, la mélancolie et tous les autres soleils noirs de la poésie ont roulé dans le fossé." (Join me. Let's do it together... against all Nisard's of the Earth who consider literature as a sad missalMissalA missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
, a school of resignation. The reader comes there, head ducked, to listen to sermonSermonA sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
s and scoldings... foolishness, fantasy, satire, spite and challenge, melancholy and all the other black suns of poetry roll into the gutter).