French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Westphal, La Géocritique. Réel, fiction, espace
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Bertrand Westphal

La Géocritique. Réel, fiction, espace

Minuit, coll. "Paradoxe"
2007

304 p.

20 €
ISBN : 9782707320049

For a long time, the humanities prioritized the analysis of time. Space was perceived merely as a container, an innocuous stage upon which human destinies unfolded. However, over the past few decades, the relationship between these two fundamental coordinates of existence has achieved greater balance.

This essay explores the representation of space in fictional universes, probing its intimate connections with reality. In a postmodern environment where the perception of the real is weakened and simulation reigns supreme, mimetic arts—including literature—are now equipped to offer a new, geocritical reading of the world, drawing upon literary theory, cultural geography, and architecture.

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN REVIEWED IN ACTA Fabula: "GEOCRITICISM: THEORY, METHODOLOGY, PRACTICE", BY C. DOUDET

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The spatial turn in the humanities marks a departure from traditional models that historically privileged temporal analysis over spatial dimensions. Within literary and cultural studies, this shift encourages scholars to reconsider physical environments not merely as passive backgrounds for narrative action, but as active components in the construction of meaning. Westphal contributes to this broader intellectual movement by examining how contemporary fictional universes engage with the complexities of lived environments, drawing upon intersections between literature, cultural geography, and architectural theory. Readers interested in spatial analysis, literary geography, and the theoretical intersections between mimetic arts and postmodern representations of reality may find this volume relevant.

An initial article on this book was published on the nonfiction.fr website: "The Eternal Movement of These Infinite Spaces", by J.-C. Valtat.