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OverviewWinner of France's prestigious Prix Medicis and a bestseller in France, Oster's My Big Apartment is a humorous and ironic look at the serious subject of growing up. Always accessible, but never facile, Christian Oster is a writer searching for love and equilibrium in the world. Although hardly the most daring theme, Oster-through deadpan humor, fastidious and thoughtful writing, and a genuine melancholy-makes it seem new. Gavarine, the gentle but immature protagonist of My Big Apartment, is ambitious only in the search for love. When he loses the keys to his apartment he loses and a whole lot more than access to his apartment. Yet, through a true comedy of errors Gavarine ends up finding, in ways he has least expected, everything he is looking for. Though in some ways a wry romantic comedy, the language in My Big Apartment is unfailingly rich in implications and there is always more going in this story than meets the eye. At once unapologetically sentimental and overtly intellectual, Oster's writing belongs to that particular strain of French literature in which seriousness and jest, or passion and the cerebral, fruitfully coexist without effort or contradiction. Christian Oster lives in France and is the author of eight novels in addition to a number of pseudonymous detective novels and children's books. Jordan Stump is an associate professor of French at the University of Nebraska. He is the author of Naming and Unnaming (Nebraska 1998) and translator of numerous books including Eric Chevillard's On the Ceiling also published by the University of Nebraska Press. Also available Naming and Unnaming: On Raymond Queneau Jordan Stump 0-8032-4268-9 HB GBP30.50 On the Ceiling Eric Chevillard: Translated by Jordan Stump 0-8032-6396-1 PB GBP11.50 Full Product DetailsAuthor: Christian Oster , Jordan Stump , Jordan StumpPublisher: University of Nebraska Press Imprint: University of Nebraska Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.340kg ISBN: 9780803235670ISBN 10: 0803235674 Pages: 157 Publication Date: 01 January 2003 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsReviewed in the Times Literary Supplement, 26 March 2004 (Nothing quotable) The comically tortured thought processes of an amiable and very confused Parisian slacker are memorably explored in this 1999 winner of France's Prix Medicis: the seventh novel by a popular author who also writes pseudonymous detective stories and children's books. Oster's engaging narrator Gavarine loses his job, a briefcase containing his apartment keys, then his girlfriend; nor can he find the note explaining her absence he's sure she must have left . . . on and on the confusions, second thoughts, qualifications, and distractions proliferate as Gavarine travels about the countryside, encounters one fascinating and maddening woman after another, and eventually finds employment, love, and detente with his own manic, inchoate sensibility. A wry farcical romance and coming-of-age tale like no other: an altogether charming entertainment. (Kirkus Reviews) Author InformationChristian Oster lives in France and is the author of eight novels in addition to a number of pseudonymous detective novels and children's books. Jordan Stump is an associate professor of French at the University of Nebraska. He is the author of Naming and Unnaming (Nebraska 1998) and translator of numerous books including Eric Chevillard's On the Ceiling also published by the University of Nebraska Press. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |