Description:

Realism and Degeneration

This talk explores a strand of contemporary French literary realism Wampole calls “degenerative realism.” These narratives tell of the worsening of life in France, Europe, and the West, and the form of these novels tends to break down alongside the declining civilizations they describe. The most well-known authors who’ve produced degenerative realist fictions include Houellebecq, Beigbeder, Moix, and Bellanger. This talk presents a few examples from their work and the work of others and tries to explain why this pattern in contemporary French fiction has been so pervasive and consistent since the beginning of the new millennium.