The Ecological Vision of J.M.G. Le Clzio

This book presents a close reading of four texts by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clzio, guided by Gilles Deleuzes concept of metamorphosis, becoming-animal. In his critique of anthropocentrism and Western reason, Le Clzio dismantles the opposition between mind and matter, language and life, developing Henri Bergsons notion of the living, le vivant. A philosophical and ecological role is accorded poetic, sensorial expression, which is the means of communication between the multiple forms of life. For instance, the protagonist may become a bird: in their flight they form intercultural relations calling to mind the texts of douard Glissant and Patrick Chamoiseau. Importantly, Le Clzio never divorces the poetic from the socio-political. The text Bitna, sous le ciel de Soul, for example, unfolds against the background of the war between North and South Korea. Through the figure of the war-traumatised homeless Algerian, Bchir, The Story of Dodo emerges as one of the most powerful critics of nationalism and capitalism ever written.