Countering The Culture

This is a study of the nine prose fiction works of Christiane Rochefort written between 1958 and 1988. Despite establishment recognition and a popular mass-market following, Christiane Rochefort has hitherto received little critical attention. Her fiction forms an approachable learning tool for all students of post-war French politics and culture; the bestseller "Les Petits Enfants du Siecle" is a set text in schools and universities in the UK and the USA. This novel of growing up in the working class high-rises of Paris, written in the language of the streets, provides a child-centred view of a youngs girl's social, political and sexual awakening. The study looks at each novel in turn and applies close attention to the narrative sophistication and political subversion of the books. Certain contemporary themes run through her work - the status of children, language as an instrument of oppression and subversion, homosexuality, incest and child abuse. Each chapter of this book provides cultural and socio-political background material.