French Literature Reviews - 2026
Arnaud Villanova, Le Chemin continue. Biographie de Georges Lambrichs
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs
Preface by Jacques Réda
As the publisher of Samuel Beckett and J.M.G. Le Clézio, Georges Lambrichs was a major driving force in the literary life of the latter half of the 20th century. Born in Belgium in 1917, he established contact with La NRF as early as the 1930s, and in 1942 he became the Brussels correspondent for the clandestine literary review Messages. Close to Vercors, he worked as a reader for Les Éditions de Minuit upon the Liberation, before later taking on the role of literary director. Working alongside Jérôme Lindon, he published works by Samuel Beckett, Georges Bataille, Maurice Blanchot, Marguerite Duras, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute, and Michel Butor. This was the era of the nouveau roman, but it was also marked by a profound bond between the NRF and Minuit, underpinned by his friendship with Jean Paulhan.
Having joined Éditions Gallimard in 1959, Lambrichs orchestrated the emergence of a new generation of writers and critics. Wholly dedicated to creative literature, he welcomed figures such as Georges Perros, Jean Starobinski, Michel Chaillou, Jacques Réda, Henri Meschonnic, Pierre Guyotat, Gérard Macé, Jean-Marie Laclavetine, and—starting in 1962—J.M.G. Le Clézio into the "Le Chemin" series and its companion review, Les Cahiers du Chemin.
Le Chemin continue traces an exceptional editorial journey.
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Pierre Assouline dedicated a post to this book on his blog larepubliquedeslivres.com…
An article on this work can also be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:
"Lambrichs, éditeur au singulier", by Norbert Czarny (published online June 14, 2023).
True publishers can nowadays be counted on the fingers of both hands. In the most prestigious publishing houses, managers are now at the helm, and André Schiffrin’s dark predictions are coming true. Numbers matter more than letters—or else media stunts do. Georges Lambrichs, much like Lindon, Nadeau, and a few other adventurers, belonged to that breed of craftsmen who read "attentively, meaning very slowly," choose with utmost clarity, and are capable of saying "this doesn't work" or "this is terrific." Afterwards, these enthusiastic loners would barely alter the text. In Le Chemin continue, Arnaud Villanova paints a portrait of Lambrichs as a truly singular publisher.
The profession of literary publishing in the twentieth century often relied on singular figures who shaped intellectual movements through close collaborations with authors and sustained commitments to innovative writing. In the context of mid-century French letters, figures like Lambrichs operated within influential networks bridging houses such as Gallimard and Éditions de Minuit. These editors navigated shifting literary landscapes, working alongside notable writers associated with the nouveau roman and related avant-garde currents. Arnaud Villanova traces an exceptional editorial journey, examining the professional path of a man who dedicated his career to creative literature and fostered generations of emerging writers and critics.
Readers interested in the history of twentieth-century French publishing and the mechanics of literary creation may find this book relevant to their pursuits. Georges Lambrichs was born in Belgium in 1917 and established contact with La NRF in the 1930s before becoming the Brussels correspondent for the clandestine literary review Messages. Having joined Éditions Gallimard in 1959, he orchestrated the emergence of a new generation of writers and critics through the "Le Chemin" series and its companion review, Les Cahiers du Chemin, working with figures such as Samuel Beckett, Georges Bataille, and J.M.G. Le Clézio.