French Literature Reviews - 2026
Émilien Sermier, Une Saison dans le roman. Explorations modernistes : d'Apollinaire à Supervielle (1917-1930)
Novel and Narrative Prose
Review published in Acta Fabula (October 2022, vol. 23, no. 8):
"Against conventional historiography: how to make room for the modernist novel?" by Maxime Deblander.
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2022 Literary Essay and Criticism Prize of the Geneva National Institute.
At the heart of the Roaring Twenties, a whole constellation of poets embarked on the adventure of the novel. From Apollinaire to Supervielle—via Albert-Birot, Beucler, Cendrars, Cocteau, Delteil, Grey, Havet, Jacob, Jouve, Mac Orlan, Morand, Reverdy, Salmon, and Soupault—numerous modernist writers explored the literary industry's favorite genre. In a climate of collective emulation, they experimented with novelistic forms through unusual approaches: not only did they disrupt realist conventions, but they revitalized the genre by varying its proportions, rhythms, voices, and characters—in order to align them with the "profound present."
This book therefore aims to fill a gap in our histories of the 20th-century novel. From a socio-poetic perspective, it demonstrates how—alongside the canonical works of Proust or Joyce, and apart from surrealism—these French-language modernist texts contributed to the global renewal of the genre. Thus, it rehabilitates a corpus that was long overlooked or misclassified, reminding us that there existed in France—long before the Nouveau Roman—a "new novel."
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Read the book's introduction on Fabula…
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The early twentieth century was marked by a significant shift in literary production, as writers sought to capture the experience of the modern era through new aesthetic strategies. This period saw a departure from traditional realist structures, with authors increasingly interested in the formal possibilities of narrative. Readers interested in the evolution of the novel and the intersection of poetry and prose may find this examination of modernist practices particularly relevant.
The exploration of the novel by poets such as Apollinaire, Cendrars, and Supervielle highlights a period of intense creative emulation. These writers challenged established conventions by manipulating rhythm, characterization, and voice to better reflect the conditions of their time. The book rehabilitates a corpus that was long overlooked, reminding us that there existed in France—long before the Nouveau Roman—a "new novel." This analysis contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how French-language writers navigated the tension between poetic innovation and the demands of the novelistic form.
Read the article in Le Monde des livres (May 6, 22), in Le Matricule des Anges (May 2022) and Le Temps (December 2022)