French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. Fleischer, Avigdor's Vision or The Merchant of Venice Corrected
Novel and Narrative Prose

Alain Fleischer, Avigdor's Vision or The Merchant of Venice Corrected

LE CHERCHE MIDI, STYLES collection, 2008, 233 p.
EAN : 9782749110936
15,00 €

This book is the fourth and final installment of an archipelago whose very geography tells a story.

First came Night Without Stella (Actes Sud, 1995), featuring a short essay, photographs, an alleged news item, and a short story with an open ending. Then came the brief, discreet first appearance of a tiny islet, The Elevator (Éditions des Brigittines, an art center in Brussels, 2002): an introductory note, a short story, and an interview. This hinted at a possible sequel in the form of a more substantial novel, which indeed became Immersion (Gallimard, 2005).

Last year, The Elevator, a quickly submerged islet, resurfaced with a larger scope and new contours (Le Cherche Midi, 2007). Here, then, from the same publisher, is the sequel and conclusion—or more precisely, a branch of the novel Immersion—as it consists of the corrections to Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice undertaken by one of its characters, Avigdor Sforno.

Here, the author essentially puts words into action: finding his double or intermediary in David Fischer, he sets out to fulfill the project of another fictional figure. Fortunately, this is no Raskolnikov, and the crime remains a minor one. Sometimes, to write, one must use writing to invent the author one is not.

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An initial review of this work can be read on the bibliobs.com website: "Rewriting Shakespeare" by Odile Quirot.

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This concluding volume functions as an extension of Alain Fleischer's novel Immersion, presenting the textual corrections to Shakespeare's famous play as imagined by the character Avigdor Sforno. By staging an intricate dialogue between dramatic tradition, fictional creation, and authorial avatars, the work blurs the boundaries between criticism and invention. Through the surrogate figure of David Fischer, the project addresses the complex relationship between a text and its rewriting, inviting reflection on how literature absorbs, reinterprets, and transforms canonical dramatic heritage across different cultural and historical contexts.

Readers interested in contemporary narrative experimentation, metafiction, and modern theatrical adaptations will find this volume a compelling study in intertextuality. It will particularly appeal to scholars and enthusiasts examining how contemporary French authors engage with classical dramatic repertoires. By positioning this text as the final piece of an overarching narrative geography, the book offers valuable insights into the broader thematic preoccupations of Alain Fleischer's literary and artistic oeuvre, shedding light on the mechanics of authorship and the playful subversion of literary authorities.