La Presqu’île
Encyclopedia
La Presqu’île is the title of a collection of three short pieces by French
writer Julien Gracq
that takes its name from its second work, a novella
, which is preceded by La Route and followed by Le Roi Cophetua. The Peninsula and King Cophetua have been published separately in English
by Green Integer (2011) and Turtle Point Press (2003), respectively. La Route has yet to be translated into English.
coast. He spends his time exploring the area and revisiting the sites of childhood vacations while he waits for his mistress Irmgard to arrive at the train station later that evening. The story contains much highly descriptive and poetic detail of the area as Simon experiences it, woven together with his thoughts and sensations as they change throughout the day.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Julien Gracq
Julien Gracq
Julien Gracq , born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, in the French département of Maine-et-Loire, was a French writer. He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were noted for their Surrealism.Gracq first studied in Paris at the Lycée Henri IV, where he earned his...
that takes its name from its second work, a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, which is preceded by La Route and followed by Le Roi Cophetua. The Peninsula and King Cophetua have been published separately in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Green Integer (2011) and Turtle Point Press (2003), respectively. La Route has yet to be translated into English.
The Peninsula
Translated by Elizabeth Deshays, The Peninsula concerns the wanderings of a solitary man, Simon, on a day he spends driving around the NormandyNormandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
coast. He spends his time exploring the area and revisiting the sites of childhood vacations while he waits for his mistress Irmgard to arrive at the train station later that evening. The story contains much highly descriptive and poetic detail of the area as Simon experiences it, woven together with his thoughts and sensations as they change throughout the day.