Congrats, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio

French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature today by the Swedish Academy. I had never heard of him until reading the NYT article five minutes ago.


Le Clézio is a well respected and prolific author in France. Among the more than 30 titles he’s published are essays, novels, and children’s books. He rose to literary prominence in 1963 at the age of 23 when his first novel, Le Procès-Verbal (The Interrogation), was released. (Shit. That makes me feel unproductive, but we live in different times.) He is also a well-traveled and well-lived man, which was to the liking of the Swedes. Born in Nice, his family moved to Nigeria when he was eight. He studied in both England and France before moving to the US to teach. In 1974 he was sent to Thailand for military service but was reassigned to Mexico after he protested against child prostitution. He and his wife now split their time between Albuquerque, Nice, and Mauritius. Besides writing, I guess he makes his living by teaching at universities across the world.

Congrats, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio.

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