A récit is a subgenre of the French novel, in which the narrative calls attention to itself. Literary critic Roger Shattuck explains, "During a récit, we are conscious of being at one remove from the action; the very act of narration interferes and calls attention to itself." Examples of the récit include works by Benjamin Constant and Eugene Fromentin, André Gide, Maurice Blanchot, and Michel Leiris. According to Shattuck,The discomfort of the narrator in confronting his own effort of composition has been inherited as one of the principal features of the recit.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleL'Immoraliste by André Gide 1 Defining TraitThe narration calls attention to itself, leaving the reader at one remove from the action 1 FAQs
How is a récit different from a novel?
Some writers treat the récit as a separate form from the novel. Gide tied it to a single perspective on life; Blanchot saw an essential difference of kind.
Writers who use the term often treat the récit as separate from the novel, though not always for the same reason. André Gide was careful to separate his novels, which take a complex view of life, from his récits, which portray life from a single perspective. Maurice Blanchot also insisted on a difference between the two, but his argument had nothing to do with the number of points of view in a story. For Blanchot the récit is a distinct literary form whose difference from the novel is essential and not merely stylistic. Critics add that the term itself is slippery: it can mean narrative in general, or it can name the particular manner of a few writers, with Gide's L'Immoraliste and Albert Camus's La Chute as the clearest illustrations.
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Recit (Wikipedia)
Introduction
A récit is a subgenre of the French novel
Main text
This latter use finds perhaps its most exemplary illustrations in André Gide's L'Immoraliste
Main text, Shattuck quotation
During a récit, we are conscious of being at one remove from the action; the very act of narration interferes and calls attention to itself.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.