Force ennemie
Force ennemie (1903; English: Enemy Force) is a novel by French author John Antoine Nau. It won the inaugural Prix Goncourt in 1903.[1]
In 2010 Michael Shreve adapted it into English as Enemy Force.[2]
Plot summary[]
The main character is a poet who mysteriously wakes up in a rubber room, locked away in a lunatic asylum, apparently at the request of a relative due to alcoholism or perhaps jealousy.[3][1] He then becomes possessed by an "Alien Force" from another planet, Kmôhoûn, whose crazy voice is constantly screaming in his head.[3][1] He then falls in love with a female inmate, Irene, but she leaves and so he follows her to the ends of the earth, while the Alien Force cohabits his body.[3][1]
Critical reception[]
It won the inaugural Prix Goncourt in 1903.[1] The novel was only a mediocre success, but it did not prevent the president of the academy, Joris-Karl Huysmans, to say much later: "It is still the best we have crowned." In 1906, Paul Léautaud said "The Prix Goncourt has really only been given once—the first time to Nau."[3]
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- Excerpt from Enemy Force, from The Brooklyn Rail InTranslation, August 2009.
- (in French) Force ennemie, version audio
- 1903 French novels
- 1903 science fiction novels
- French science fiction novels
- Prix Goncourt winning works