Valheen jäljet

Fiktion ja ei-fiktion kysymyksiä Emmanuel Carrèren teoksessa Valhe

• Sanna Katariina Bruun Tampereen yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30665/av.74891

Abstract

True Lies: Fiction and Non-Fiction in Emmanuel Carrère’s L’Adversaire

Emmanuel Carrère’s L’Adversaire (2000) tells the story of Jean-Claude Romand, a man who killed his wife, his two children and his parents. During the police investigation it was revealed that Romand’s whole life was a web of lies. For eighteen years Romand successfully played the role of a prosperous doctor although, in reality, he was unemployed and without professional skills or income. No one – not even his own wife – knew the truth.

The story is based on real events. Before writing the book the author entered into correspondence with Romand, followed his trial closely and wrote a series of newspaper articles on the subject. However, The Adversary is neither Romand’s biography nor a clearly factual account of the events. Besides Romand the author-narrator tells about himself: his decision to write about the events and the difficulties of the writing. The writing process of the book fuses with Romand’s story. The Adversary is not fiction but it is not distinctly non-fiction either. In this paper I’ll ask how completely unbelievable real life events can or should be represented and how L’Adversaire answers these questions, especially on the level of structure and narration.