French Literature Reviews - 2026
André Dhôtel or the Wonders of the Novelistic
Novel and Narrative Prose
JUST PUBLISHED (May 2003):
ANDRÉ DHÔTEL OR THE WONDERS OF THE NOVELISTIC
Philippe Blondeau
What accounts for the unique allure of André Dhôtel's novels? The marvelous, it is most often said. But the marvelous, alternately serving as an enhancement and a deterrent, is a problematic category, to say the least. This study aims to highlight a form that derives its effectiveness from a highly personal articulation of the novelistic and the marvelous. It will therefore first seek to define the contours of a Dhôtelian marvelous, from a historical, theoretical, and aesthetic perspective. It will then analyze an original poetics that, starting from conventional material, cultivates shifts, irony, contradiction, or disorientation, in terms of narration, characters, time, and place. Such a poetics, constantly open to 'something else,' may be a way of restoring, in a novelistic mode, an authentic experience of the elusive, from a perspective not unrelated to certain phenomenological inquiries. Far from being a mere byproduct of the marvelous, Dhôtel's work renews its understanding in an exemplary fashion.
Philippe Blondeau teaches at the University of Picardy Jules Verne. He has dedicated various works and articles to André Dhôtel; he is notably responsible for the Cahiers André Dhôtel.
L'Harmattan, 2003; ISBN: 2-7475-4029-4; 386 p.; 31 euros.
André Dhôtel occupies a distinct place in modern French literature, celebrated for narrative worlds where reality continually opens onto the unexpected. This study by Philippe Blondeau examines the mechanisms behind such a singular aesthetic, analyzing how conventional narrative materials undergo subtle shifts through irony, contradiction, and spatial or temporal disorientation. Rather than relying on simple escapism, Dhôtel's fiction engages with deeper philosophical currents, aligning at times with phenomenological inquiries that seek to capture elusive aspects of human experience and perception.
Readers interested in twentieth-century narrative poetics, the evolution of the marvelous in prose, or the specific textures of Dhôtel's fictional universe will find this volume a valuable resource. It offers scholars and enthusiasts alike a rigorous framework for understanding how an apparent devotion to wonder actually serves a sophisticated novelistic ambition. The book will particularly appeal to those studying French literature, narratology, and the intricate ways traditional genres can be reinvented from within.