André Gide, l’inquiéteur: tome 1, le ciel sur la terre ou l’inquiétude partagée (1869–1918) par Frank Lestringant, André Gide, l’inquiéteur: tome 2, le sel de la terre ou l’inquiétude assumée (1919–1951) par Frank Lestringant (review)

Reviews 225 or Opinion in the same work, or drew exempla from antique and contemporary authors that she reworked and rearranged in order to get her message across. Le Ninan offers a long series of close readings that are always illuminating, showing for example that Pizan transforms negative examples into positive ones or adapts her lessons to the age of the dauphin Louis de Guyenne who is the target of several texts. With a keen sense for Pizan’s use of metaphors and her skilled technique of auto-citation, Le Ninan guides her readers through Pizan’s often intricate writings, whose goals were always the same: to save the kingdom of France. The book is clearly and elegantly written, marred only by a bibliography unnecessarily divided into sections that make it difficult to retrieve a particular reference, and by a number of typos unworthy of such an excellent book. University of Pittsburgh Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski Lestringant, Frank. André Gide, l’inquiéteur: tome 1, le ciel sur la terre ou l’inquiétude partagée (1869–1918). Paris: Flammarion,2011.ISBN 978-2-0806-8735-7.Pp.1165. 35 a. . André Gide, l’inquiéteur: tome 2, le sel de la terre ou l’inquiétude assumée (1919–1951). Paris: Flammarion, 2012. ISBN 978-2-0812-7101-2. Pp. 1522. 39 a. Gide’s life and writings are too often considered exclusively in relation to the writer’s politics, religion, and sexuality. While these are germane points de départ, previous biographies seem to hinge on one—or all—of these themes, yielding inadequate treatment of important events that surround discussions of such topoi. Lestringant’s monumental biography in two well-researched volumes fills a longstanding void for an unbiased and thorough consideration of one of France’s most outspoken and notable literary figures. Its broad scope benefits from Lestringant’s extensive knowledge of Gide’s oeuvre, which he effortlessly weaves in and out of each chapter. The first volume examines Gide’s life until 1918, a year associated with the completion of La symphonie pastorale and Corydon. Gide is portrayed throughout as an inquiéteur, which is based in part on the writer’s self-reflection in the 1935 journal in which he asserts, “Belle fonction à assumer: celle d’un inquiéteur.” Lestringant establishes his methodology in a concise, useful introduction,“L’homme-Gide.”Volume one consists of eighteen chapters, each arranged by subheadings outlining major events, publications , travels, and significant relationships. Among the most interesting aspects of Gide’s life are his travels, including his“travel”writings, which Lestringant approaches with attentive detail—a characteristic that carries over seamlessly into the second volume. One of the more interesting discussions occurs in chapter eight, “Les trois morales de l’affaire Dreyfus.”Lestringant discusses Gide’s response to Zola’s“J’accuse!,” followed by reflections on subjects ranging from la tragédie du roi Oscar Wilde to Gide’s complex relationship with Paul Valéry—including Valéry’s reaction to the publication of Saül. In this chapter, Lestringant also considers the often-overlooked subject of the nude photographs Gide took of young male subjects mostly en berger while in Rome in the winter of 1898, which Lestringant likens to the photography of Wilhelm von Gloeden. This blend of literary and social history provides salient analyses of this important period of Gide’s life. Slightly longer and consisting of twenty chapters, the second volume is Lestringant’s greatest contribution to Gidian studies in that it poses as the first biography to consider in great detail the second half of Gide’s life. Part one,“Le contemporain capital,” consists of five chapters, each portraying with subtle tenderness Gide’s changing aesthetic. In the following sections, readers will appreciate Lestringant’s treatment of Gide’s entanglements in and out of Africa. Much attention is afforded to the year 1939, marked by the publication of “le grand œuvre littéraire de Gide”: Journal 1889–1939. The section devoted to Gide’s Carnets d’Égypte is particularly illuminating, offering new insight into the erotics of Gide’s imaginary, posing, according to Lestringant, as a sequel to Corydon. Lestringant’s fluid writing style...