New Interpretations in the History of French Literature: From Marie de France to Beckett and Cioran (Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York, 2008, 312 pp. ISBN 978-0-7734-5170-4) is a new collection of
essays solicited, compiled, and edited by Arizona State University Professor of French Aleksandra Gruzinksa. The essays are in French and in English, with translations from French to English. The treated texts cover the medieval to the modern period. They include Marie de France''s Chevrefeuille ; new
insights into the epic of Geste de Guillaume d''Orange/Geste de Garin de Monglane; George Sand and Honore de Balzac as inventors of the modern novel, Sand''s and Flaubert''s dialogue on the Franco-Prussian war; Octave Mirbeau on Monet''s Venice; Alexandra David-Neel''s exploration of Tibet; Samuel Beckett''s Endgame ; E. M. Cioran''s aphorisms and insights into his Romanian and French writings, and his passion for music; Jean Cocteau; and Simone de Beauvoir''s and Sartre''s discovery of New York complete the trajectory. English or French
readers, or readers fluent in both languages, will find new and acute interpretations by prominent American and Canadian scholars of the French writers who have captivated the imagination of readers for centuries. This is an exciting work of scholarship on French Literature, making the insights of experts available to specialist and lay reader alike.
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