Jean Genet

By David Houston Jones. (Glasgow Introductory Guides to French Literature, 50). University of Glasgow French And German Publications, 2004. 92 pp. Pb £4.50. This guide is an excellent introduction to a challenging work. Chapter One places the Journal in its historical context and offers a succinct discussion of the difficulties which Sartre's Saint Genet has caused, both to Genet and his readers. The assessment of Sartre's book, although less grudging than many, remains largely negative until the Conclusion. The dangers of an autobiographical reading of the Journal are outlined with admirable clarity, though more could be said here about the Proustian intertext. The complex relationships between the themes of theft, homosexuality, abjection and betrayal are explored in Chapter Two by way of a deft combination of close reading and well-argued discussion. The treatment of abjection, in particular, is a model of explanation without oversimplification. Chapter Three explores narrative structure. The thought-provoking Conclusion supplements and complicates the preceding discussion by examining the untitled text which became the preface to L'Ennemi déclaré: it asks what kind of reader Genet's texts assume, desire or require, and it briefly returns to reconsider, in a more positive light, the status of Sartre's biography. Critical concepts such as autofiction and reflexivity are explained clearly on first use, but the book is not unduly burdened with technical language. The tone throughout this guide is exploratory rather than dogmatic, constantly suggestive of new avenues for further study, making this a fitting fiftieth publication in a deservedly well-regarded series

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