Abstract
The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded in 2014 to the French writer Patrick Modiano. We will first show that this writer had managed for years to reconcile his taking part to the field of restricted production with direct access to the wide diffusion field. Then we will analyse the impact of obtaining the Nobel Prize on figures in terms of prints and sales. The Nobel Prize in Literature served principally to amplify the position Modiano occupied in the French literary field prior to the prize, at the intersection between the fields of limited and large-scale production. The Nobel Prize has given Modiano and his work increased visibility among readers in the wider public as well as more specialised readers.
Warm thanks to Phoebe Weston-Evans for her work on this text, which goes far beyond a simple translation.
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Notes
- 1.
Peter Englund, former permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg1ix8qauGY, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 2.
Quotations translated by Phoebe Weston-Evans. The entry for Patrick Modiano on the Gallimard website has since been modified and abridged, http://www.gallimard.fr/Contributeurs/Patrick-Modiano, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 3.
Raymond Queneau (1903–1976) was an erudite French novelist, poet, and playwright renowned for his encyclopaedic mind. In 1924, Queneau joined the Surrealists, and he later cofounded the Ouplio literary group. In 1938 he joined the Gallimard reading committee, specialising in English-language projects, before being appointed director of the Nouvelle Revue Française (NRF) reading committee in 1941. In 1954 he took over direction of the prestigious Encyclopédie de la Pléiade, a position which he occupied for the rest of his life. His novel, Zazie dans le métro, published in January 1959 and adapted for cinema the following year by Louis Malle, brought him widespread public recognition. For more information: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raymond-Queneau (accessed 14 June 2018).
- 4.
Cau had formerly been Sartre’s secretary. He won the Prix Goncourt in 1961 for La Pitié de Dieu (Gallimard) and was an important intellectual figure at the time.
- 5.
The Marguerite Duras—BNF Prize is awarded in rotation for works of theatre, film and literature. In 2011, the jury was presided over by Alain Vircondelet, a university professor and Duras specialist, and included actors, writers, critics and journalists. https://www.margueriteduras.org/films-autres/prix-marguerite-duras, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 6.
This is a hybrid prize since it is bestowed by a jury made up of both professionals and readers. The Babelio website provides the following description: “Every year, we choose one novel from a new selection of excellent books. Laureates are chosen for the quality of their writing style and originality of plot. Each year, a new jury is assembled, made up of people working in the travel industry, journalists, writers, members of Relay, united by a shared passion for books in all their forms, and for reading in all means of transport.” https://www.babelio.com/prix/86/Relay-des-voyageurs-lecteurs, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 7.
The Jean Monnet Prize for European Literature, founded in 1995, is awarded to European authors for works written in or translated into French. The prize is funded and sponsored by the Department of Charentes, and the selection committee is made up of writers, critics, and journalists. http://www.litteratures-europeennes.com/fr/rubrique-2615-prix-jean-monnet.html, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 8.
The English translation, So You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighbourhood (trans. Euan Cameron) was published by MacLehose and came out in 2015.
- 9.
Wikipedia shows a non-exhaustive list of these theses, which gives an example of the themes dealt with in these theses on Modiano’s page (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Modiano accessed 14 June 2018) identity, memory, nostalgia, autofiction, paternal images, the Occupation, Paris, and so forth. Since the Nobel Prize, however, there has been no sudden increase of theses on Modiano’s work added to the database: there were two new additions in October 2014 and autumn 2015. This could be only a matter of time for France; abroad, the Nobel Prize has clearly legitimated Modiano as a subject of research for students in French literature.
- 10.
Livres Hebdo is a magazine for professionals in the book industry (bookstores, publishing houses, libraries) and the public interested in book news. Ipsos Culture publishes weekly rankings of bestselling books.
- 11.
Cosnard, Denis, http://lereseaumodiano.blogspot.fr/p/modiano-et-le-cinema.html, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 12.
Fonds de tiroirs is a compilation of twelve songs written in 1967 with Hughes de Courson, a musician, composer and producer. The album features three instrumental pieces and nine songs, with lyrics written by Modiano. It was first released on vinyl in 1979 by Ballon noir, then on CD in 1997 by Masq and re-released in 2005 under the title Fonds de tiroirs 1967 by Le Roseau and distributed by Harmonia Mundi. In 1968, a year after they recorded the songs, Hughes de Courson presented Étonnez-moi, Benoît…! to Françoise Hardy, and she recorded a version of Modiano’s song. Two years later, Régine recorded a version of Modiano’s song L’Aspire à cœur.
- 13.
http://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/the-nobel-prize-in-literature, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 14.
Swedish Academy. Website. Available at: https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/literature/index.html, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 15.
https://www.bief.org/fichiers/operation/3839/media/9076/Suède%202015.pdf, accessed 14 June 2018.
- 16.
Edistat is a website that offers estimates of sales of books, bestseller lists and indicators on major market trends in France.
- 17.
“2014’s bestsellers: Musso and Modiano step up, Lévy steps down.” Guillaume Musso and Marc Lévy are “airport novel” writers, firmly in the field of large-scale production. For years they have been among those vying for the top place in various bestseller lists, and it is generally one or the other who makes it to the top.
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Lévy, C. (2020). Patrick Modiano, Between the Fields of Limited Production and Large-Scale Production. In: Glauser, A., Holder, P., Mazzurana, T., Moeschler, O., Rolle, V., Schultheis, F. (eds) The Sociology of Arts and Markets. Sociology of the Arts. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39013-6_2
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