Thursday, August 05, 2010

When I Was A Work of Art

I try to read one novel in French every year and this was the one i chose this year. 'Lorsque j'etais une oeuvre d'art' by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a wonderfully strange, compelling and entertaining story about a man who becomes a work of art.

Tazio is saved from committing suicide by a mysterious benefactor who puts to him the proposition that he become a work of art. Many plastic surgery procedures later Tazio has become Adam, a public art installation, owned and controlled by his so called benefactor.

The narrative is compelling and at the same time puts forward very thought provoking discussions on issues around human identity, human rights, the concept of beauty and what is a work of art? It's also surprisingly easy to read in the original French, so I read it almost as quickly as I would have done if it were in English.

Lorsque j'etais une oeuvre d'art by Eric Emmanuel Schmitt published by Le Livre de Poche.

As far as I know this novel has been translated into English!

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