The Ecological Vision of J.M.G. Le Clezio

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

This book presents a close reading of four texts by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, guided by Gilles Deleuze's concept of metamorphosis, <>. In his critique of anthropocentrism and Western reason, Le Clezio dismantles the opposition between mind and matter, language and life, developing Henri Bergson's notion of the living, <>. A philosophical and ecological role is accorded poetic, sensorial expression, which is the means of communication between the multiple forms of life. For instance, the protagonist may become a bird: in their flight they form intercultural relations calling to mind the texts of Edouard Glissant and Patrick Chamoiseau. Importantly, Le Clezio never divorces the poetic from the socio-political. The text Bitna, sous le ciel de Seoul, for example, unfolds against the background of the war between North and South Korea. Through the figure of the war-traumatised homeless Algerian, Bechir, The Story of Dodo emerges as one of the most powerful critics of nationalism and capitalism ever written.