Literary farewell: Antoine Volodine publishes 11 novels with 11 publishers for a 'firework' career end

French writer Antoine Volodine, whose real name is Jean Desvignes, is concluding his literary career with an unprecedented artistic statement: the simultaneous release of 11 novels, each published by a different house. This ambitious project, set to hit bookshelves starting August 24, is being hailed as a "firework" finale.

Volodine, a septuagenarian author known for works like "Terminus radieux" (Prix Médicis 2014) and "Des anges mineurs" (Prix Inter), is publishing under the pseudonym Infernus Iohannes for this series. The 11 books, ranging from 150 to 320 pages, share the subtitle "Retour au goudron" (Return to the Tar) and explore the core tenets of his "post-exotisme" literary universe. This universe, which he created in the 1980s, is characterized by cruelty, absurdity, the "humor of disaster," and a "desperate transfiguration of the contemporary world."

"It's an artistic gesture that marks the end," Volodine told AFP, citing old age and illness as reasons for his retirement. He described the collection as "a thousand and one stories," delving into "dreamlike, ghostly, sometimes hallucinatory worlds." While acknowledging that "most are not very joyful," he emphasized the pervasive presence of dark humor throughout his work. The project is the culmination of a literary performance he envisioned decades ago, with "Retour au goudron" serving as the 49th and final installment, ending with the phrase "I am silent."

The 11 publishers involved range from major houses like Robert Laffont, Seuil, and Actes Sud to smaller, specialized presses such as La Volte and Verdier. This diverse distribution underscores the unique nature of Volodine's farewell, ensuring his final works reach a broad spectrum of the literary landscape.

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