Patrick Modiano at the Cornelia Street Cafe- 2/25/15

We were thrilled to dedicate 

our latest French Night to Patrick Modiano’s novels.

Patrick Modiano was born in 1945.

He wrote his first novel when he was 22

and never stopped writing.
His bibliography includes almost 30 books. 

He received the Nobel Prize of Literature in 2014

just after publishing his latest novel. 

We enjoyed having

 old friends 

and new ones

new readers

and old ones

new translators and old ones

who came to join us despite the cold and the snow.

We picked three of Patrick Modiano's novels 
to follow him through his entire career. 

The first one was

 published in 1978 for which he received the Goncourt Award - 

one of the most famous awards in France since 1903. 

This novel was translated in 2005 by Daniel Weissbort 

and published by Verba Mundi

The second one was

This novel was published in 2008 

Its translation is by Chris Clarke 

and will be published 

by NYRB Classics in February 2016.

And last but not least, 

His latest novel

It was

published in September 2014 by Gallimard. 

Some excerpts were translated by 

Emmanuelle Ertel's translation workshop students 

 in NYU.

We got started by excerpts of  In The Cafe of lost Youth 

 read by Chris Clarke its translator and Frédéric-Charles Baitinger

Louki is the character people are looking for. 

Her husband hires a detective 

and we follow him in the second chapter of the novel

In the two last chapters of the book, the search goes on when 

one of Louki's partner tries to find her.

They scour Paris, going from place to place 

looking for Louki where she has been and where she might be,

but they never find her.

We went on with

 Rue des Boutiques Obscures,

 whose title in French is so captivating.

 Richard Normandon read in French

as Tom Radigan read the English translation

As in many of his other novels, we follow the search of a missing person,

 but this time the narrator, Guy Roland, is looking for himself. 

He has no memory. When Hutte, 

the boss of the detective agency he works for, 

retires,  he searches for clues in an attempt to discover his own identity. 

This quest leads him to uncover many characters 

who could have been part of his former life 

and could possibly identify him.

Then 

 Emmanuelle Ertel

and her students,

 from her translation workshop in NYU

Stephanie Queiroz

Tamar McCallan-Finkelman

Chelsea Flanagan

and

Jeremy Lakin

read their translation of

Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier.

"So you don't get lost"

while Emmanuelle read the French text.

Missing Person as a title could suit any of Modiano’s books

and in this latest novel there is a search as well.

The novel tells the story of an old writer - Jean Daragane - 

who is going to look for his own past 

because of an old address book 

someone returns to him. 

Some mysteries are never solved.

See below a link to a radio show 

where excerpts of Modiano's books are read 

by Guillaume Galllienne and Catherine Deneuve.

http://www.franceinter.fr/player/reecouter?play=1048019

Our next French night 

will take place 

in the Spring.

We'll be pleased to see you 

on Wednesday April 22

at 6 pm

for

a theater play.