This volume of eight essays written by French scholars analyzes Daniel Mendelsohn's first three volumes of nonfiction (The Elusive Embrace, 1999, The Lost, 2006, and An Odyssey, 2017) as well as an illustrated interview (2019) in which Mendelsohn tackles various aspects of his work as a literary and cultural critic, as a professor of classical literature, as a translator, and as a memoirist. The essays discussing The Elusive Embrace (1999) argue that, in addition to offering a subtle reflection on sexual identity and genres, Mendelsohn's first volume already broadens his topic and patiently weaves links between ancient and present times, feeding his meditation with his knowledge of Greek culture and myths-a natural movement of back and forth which would become his signature. The Lost (2006), his much acclaimed investigation into the death by bullet of six of his family members during the Shoah, is analyzed as a close-up on the disappearance of a whole world, the unspeakability of which Mendelsohn addressed through intertwining several languages, linguistic echoes, and biblical references. Finally, Mendelsohn's recent An Odyssey (2017) is studied as a brilliant musing on teaching Homer's masterpiece while building up a memoir on his declining father sitting among his students and allowing Homer's universal questions and lessons to enlighten a father and son's last journey.
Sophie Vallas is professor of American literature at Aix-Marseille University.
Acknowledgments Introduction Sophie Vallas Prelude: "Daniel Mendelsohn: An Interview in Arles" Interviewed by Sophie Vallas and Laurence Benarroche Photographs by Andres Escobedo 1 The Elusive Embrace: A Gay Man's Bi-passing the Fantasy of Oneness Nicolas Pierre Boileau 2 Translation, Heteroglossia and Othering in Daniel Mendelsohn's The Lost Yves-Charles Grandjeat 3 Rescued from Oblivion-The Search for One of Six in Daniel Mendelsohn's The Lost. Bronia as a Tragic Character Laurence Benarroche 4 An Odyssey: The Lost Redux Marc Amfreville 5 "A great story." On Odysseus' Scar and Daniel Mendelsohn's Odyssey Jean Vivies 6 Conversion in Daniel Mendelsohn's An Odyssey: Reworking the American Memoir Sara Watson 7 A Father in the Classroom: Patrimony as An Odyssey's Arkhe Kakon Arnaud Schmitt 8 Rosebed: The Stuff Beds Are Made of in Daniel Mendelsohn's An Odyssey Sophie Vallas Bibliography Index About the Contributors
A pioneering collection exploring Daniel Mendelsohn's several works of memoir, with astute attention to their manifold dimensions, formal complexity, and literary quality. A worthy tribute to a master. -- G. Thomas Couser, Hofstra University This is the first collection ever of Daniel Mendelsohn's first three memoirs, preceded by a long interview offering an inspiring introduction to his work. A ground-breaking volume of essays that favors a close reading of Mendelsohn's powerful texts. -- Jerome Charyn
