Reviews

"Renard is at the origin of contemporary literature." - Jean-Paul Sartre

"[Poil de Carotte's] continuing power comes from its rejection of fiction's sentimental myths about childhood: Renard wrote elsewhere that a child is a 'small, necessary animal, less human than a cat.'" - Julian Barnes

"A small masterpiece." - Gore Vidal

"[Renard] is a necessary, irreplaceable nourishment . . . [His] prose is faultless, perfectly embodying Baudelaire's ideal of la litterature severe et soignee. I have never found a sentence of his which I could budge. Every word, every rhythm is absolutely, joyously right." - The New York Times

Author Biography

Born in Châlons-du-Maine, France, in 1864, Jules Renard was a poet, novelist, playwright, a member of the Académie Goncourt, and the mayor of the town of Chitry. His most famous works include Nature Stories, L'Écornifleur, and his posthumously published Journal. Poil de Carotte has been adapted numerous times for the screen. Renard died in 1910.

Ralph Manheim (1907-1992) was one of the 20th century's greatest literary translators from French and German. His work includes translations of Brecht, Céline, Günter Grass, Peter Handke, Heidegger, Hesse, among many others. Manheim was the recipient of numerous honors, including the National Book Award and a MacArthur Fellowship.