which of these le clezio books should i read first?

Yes, that is me.

Should add that, having read more of it, 'Terra Amata' also includes two pages written in Morse code, and a number of other such odds and sods.

are they nicely typeset?

i am hedging between 'the giants' (most stupid-sounding), 'the interrogation' (best cover), and 'terra amata' (because i like that kind of stupidity. there's a children's novel by alan garner where to figure out the ending you have to crack a coded message written on the endpapers! this is one of my favorite things)

Gotta warn you, I'm about a third of the way the The Interrogation and I'm not sure how much further I can go. It's a really fucking boring young man kind of book.

that's okay, i got the giants upon recalling (see review above) it also featured "typographical folderol". it appears to be the '75 translation.

it actually reminds me of 'stand on zanzibar' more'n 'space merchants', but i have only read abour four pages. it failed the paper test

Finished The Interrogation - I thought it was awful. Actually surprised I made it to the end, because of all the long, boring, crazy rants, nonsense, and tedious, over-long sections of the book. Of particularly distasteful note is the dispassionate, approximately twenty page long section spent describing how the main character slowly and semi-methodically kills a rat by throwing pool balls at it.

^^ sounds better than 'the giants' : /

Anyone left? ;-)

Goddam I'm 70 pgs into 'The Flood' and totally digging it. Its Ballard with a Roman-esque twist which is just, you know, my kind of thing. Maybe I shouldn't like it so much now I said that. Resist...

Love the cover. A few people on the train like it too, I get glances at it.

Of particularly distasteful note is the dispassionate, approximately twenty page long section spent describing how the main character slowly and semi-methodically kills a rat by throwing pool balls at it.

'Terra Amata' has a similarly long, nasty section where the protagonist kills insects while pretending to be their god. Charming.

Will try 'The Flood' next.

Isnt 'Desert' translated into English? Or does it have a completely deifferent title?

anyone manage to like this guy in the end?

Not yet. Unwisely bought 6 of his books in one hit, and have read only 2 of them. I'll give him one more shot, I guess.

Hey I liked the one bk I read by him...

http://sta✧✧✧.g✧✧✧.c✧.uk/Guardian/books/gallery/2008/oct/09/nobelprize/GD9143✧✧✧@-FILE--French-writer--7✧✧✧.j✧✧

eh?

http://sta✧✧✧.g✧✧✧.c✧.uk/Guardian/books/gallery/2008/oct/09/nobelprize/GD9143✧✧✧@-FILE--French-writer--7✧✧✧.j✧✧

well, nevermind.

Lock thread!

Has anyone read The Flood (Le Deluge)? Any thoughts on the long and difficult introductory chapter?

"Managed to like him"?! I'm reading War right now and it's slaying me, though also making me wish I could read it in french. I also thought The Flood was great, but apparently it didn't find many fans here.

man all the descriptions make him sound far better than i remember him being