Extract

Beyond Écriture Féminine interrogates the prose writings of the intriguing and prolific contemporary author Jeanne Hyvrard. It offers a new reading of some of Hyvrard's more widely studied early texts, as well as one of the first critical analyses of the highly complex treatise Canal de la Toussaint. While the over-arching consideration of Hyvrard's texts within a post-structuralist framework is a potentially problematic interpretation of a critical position “beyond” écriture féminine, Wardle does make a convincing and well-researched case to justify her academic focus, in an interesting and productive engagement with the dynamics of the relationship between author, text and reader. The chapters represent independent studies which could be read individually or as part of a larger project – a style which reflects Hyvrard's own opus. Apart from an unfortunate reference to a hoax interview with Hyvrard (by Agnès Giard), Wardle assimilates a good range of secondary criticism while staking out a personal position regarding Hyvrard's prose, and the primary strength of this work undeniably lies in the original and thorough literary analysis. The strategic choice to concentrate on a limited range of Hyvrard's texts ensures a focused study of an under-researched aspect of Hyvrard's writing, and overall this book offers a worthwhile contribution to the growing corpus of academic criticism of Hyvrard's work.

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