French Literature Reviews - 2026
Y. Diener, Des histoires chiffonnées (1938-2018)
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
YANN DIENER
Des histoires chiffonnées (1938-2018)
Collection Connaissance de l'Inconscient,
Série Le principe de plaisir, Gallimard
Published: 13-06-2019
128 p. — ISBN: 9782072851186
Upon returning from a trip to Vienna in early 2018—shortly after the far-right returned to power in Austria—Yann Diener wrote a piece titled "Vienna, Still Freudian?" for his column in Charlie Hebdo. This text prompted him to bring together the columns in which he had previously explored the concept of repetition.
Like these columns, the chapters that extend them here are driven by the imperative to link psychoanalytic concepts with political issues, in order to trace the folds and creases of a crumpled history.
Crumpled, as "Little Hans" once said of his giraffe; crumpled, like the very history of this book (Yann Diener took over the column previously written by Elsa Cayat until her tragic death in the January 7, 2015, terrorist attack). Yet the negative connotation of the word—what's bothering you? (*qu'est-ce qui te chiffonne?*)—gives way here to a progressive conceptualization, moving from one fold to the next.
The crumpled object, which has not yet received much attention from analysts, is a theoretical construct drawing as much from the field of physics as from the dream of a five-year-old boy living in Vienna at the dawn of the 20th century.
Des histoires chiffonnées (1938-2018) by Yann Diener explores the concept of repetition by linking psychoanalytic concepts with political issues. The work draws on the author's columns originally published in Charlie Hebdo, which were written following his trip to Vienna in 2018. The book utilizes the theoretical construct of the crumpled object, referencing both the case of Little Hans and concepts from physics to trace the folds of history.
The text reflects on the historical continuity of political shifts in Europe, specifically noting the return of far-right movements in Austria. By examining the persistence of these patterns, the work frames how history is experienced through both physical metaphors and psychoanalytic concepts. Readers interested in the application of Freudian concepts to political discourse may find these reflections relevant to their understanding of how past events continue to shape the present landscape.