J.M.G. Le Clzio: A Concerned Citizen of the Global Village

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This monograph represents the first comprehensive study of the multifaceted representations of the complex phenomenon of globalization in the diverse repertoire of the 2008 Nobel Laureate in Literature. This interdisciplinary investigation explores the initial euphoria related to the ambivalent concept of the global village and how this evaporated dream can perhaps be reappropriated to create a better global society for both the human and Cosmic Other through the lens of Le Clzios fiction. Chapter one offers a conceptual framework for understanding the Franco-Mauritian authors nuanced ideas concerning globalization. It also probes the original ambivalence of McLuhans celebrated notion of a global village in addition to its euphoric reception. Chapter two explores the current state of the interconnected, interdependent modern world in which many disenfranchised and marginalized individuals are living a recurring nightmare. Chapter three examines Le Clzios deconstruction of the simplistic ideology of consumerism that is indicative of contemporary consumer republics. This section also underscores the intricate systems of hegemonic domination, such as the media, created by the transnational corporations that dominate the global economic landscape to sustain their supremacy. Chapter four delves into Le Clzios ecocentric humanism that extends to all other living creatures by debunking Manichean dualities that separate human beings from elemental matter and the rest of the universe. The final chapter examines recent texts, such as Raga, Ourania, and Histoire du pied et autres fantaisies, which encourage the reader to envision what a more just and egalitarian global village might encompass. These works dismiss neoliberal fantasies and consumerist ideology that have justified the systematic exploitation of everyone and everything in the name of progress, but they also urge the modern subject to be resilient in the face of tremendous adversity. Instead of accepting the imposition of a monolithic, socioeconomic model that is riddled with inequality and injustice and which serves the interests of the Happy Few, Le Clzio suggests that the first step is to resist integration into the global village by stoically confronting reality and having the necessary courage to propose another vision which counterpoints McLuhans misguided one.

Reviews

This ambitious study aims to do justice to the wide range of Le Clzios work, the urgency of the crises that inspire him globalization, exploitation and poverty, the loss of authentic communities, intercultural conflict, the destruction of the environment and the powerful imaginative vision that animates his fiction. Keith Moser efficiently documents the testimony of specialists and compiles readings of the novels and meditative essays, translating extracts from many works which are not available elsewhere in English. By setting Le Clzios writing within key fields of contemporary ethical debates, this book offers insights into one of the significant authors which the twentieth-century has bequeathed to the twenty-first. -- David H. Walker, Department of French, University of Sheffield
Also author of "Privileged Moments" in the Novels and Short Stories of J. M. G. Le Clzio (2008), Moser (Mississippi State Univ.) takes the reader on a journey through globalization as depicted in Le Clzio's works. In five chapters, Moser identifies the key theme in the French-Mauritian's fiction: globalization and its ill effects--marginalization and exploitation, conflicts between cultures, destruction of the environment and of community. With support from specialists across disciplines, he is able to construct a vision of the global village that is in direct contrast to the model created by Marshall McLuhan. According to Moser, rather than focus on the "happy few" who have benefitted from the labors of the many, Le Clzio calls for a return to petitesse (smallness) to create a global village that will be sustainable. The book concludes with Moser's interview of Le Clzio, and this conversation enriches the content of the book by allowing the reader direct access to Le Clzio's thoughts on globalization. Included are notes for each chapter. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *
As a contribution to scholarly research on Le Clzio in English, J.M.G. Le Clzio: A Concerned Citizen of the Global Village is most welcome, with Moser providing access to both Le Clzios writings and recent criticism in French through his translations in the text. Mosers twin passions for the Nobel laureates work and its potential to highlight a better way of being in the world combine to make this book an engaging adventure in the growing field of Le Clzio studies. * Modern and Contemporary France *
The fictional and philosophical works of 2008 Nobel Laureate J.M.G. Le Clzio have never been more relevant than in the world of today, and this book shows why. In an introduction that sets the methodological framework for the chapters that follow, Keith Moser advocates for an interdisciplinary and humanistic approach to the current crisis of globalization and its attendant ecological issues. Moser argues effectively for 'the dire significance of literature and of the humanities in general' (xii) for altering the potentially disastrous course upon which humanity has embarked in the wake of industrialization. . . .This timely and stimulating discussion complements a fine book that discovers ample new territory in Le Clzio studies, a field that will continue to grow. * Contemporary French Civilization *
This book is extremely well written and organized; it is an excellent survey of Le Clzio criticism . . . which permits specialists and lay readers alike to perceive Le Clzios work from another angle. But, what is most remarkable about Mosers work is that it highlights . . . what a literary work can do by correctly showing that literature is a space that allows for reflection about our socioeconomic system which also facilitates communication amongst cultures in order to explore possible solutions to our problems. * Les Cahiers Le Clzio *

Author Bio

Keith Moser is an assistant professor at Mississippi State University. After publishing his first book with The Edwin Mellen Press in 2008 entitled Privileged Moments in the Novels and Short Stories of J.M.G. Le Clzio: His Contemporary Development of a Traditional French Literary Device, Moser has contributed several essays to peer-reviewed publications.