Jean Rouaud (born in Campbon, 1952) is a French novelist who writes in French. He is best known for Fields of Glory, which won the Prix Goncourt in 1990 and became the first volume of a series built around his family's history.
He studied at the Saint-Louis lycée in Saint-Nazaire and then modern literature at the University of Nantes. Before writing full time he held a range of jobs, from working at a petrol station to selling medical encyclopedias. In 1978 he joined the regional newspaper Presse-Océan, where he wrote a short humorous column on the front page. He then moved to Paris, where he worked in a bookshop and at a newspaper kiosk.
In 1988 he met Jérôme Lindon, head of Les Éditions de Minuit, who became his main publisher. Fields of Glory appeared in 1990 and, thanks to the Goncourt, allowed him to give up the kiosk. Over the following years he wrote the novels that complete the series, in which family memory blends with episodes from his own life. His prose mixes intimate storytelling with humour and reflection on memory and identity. In 2001 he moved to Gallimard, and since then he has also published essays, illustrated books and plays.
The series was at first thought to be a trilogy, but it grew into five books. His work has been translated into Spanish and Catalan, and it is often cited as a notable recent French novel of family memory.
Key works
- Fields of Glory (Les Champs d'honneur, 1990)
- Des hommes illustres (1993)
- Le Monde à peu près (1996)
- Comment gagner sa vie honnêtement (2011)
Curiosities
From kiosk to Goncourt
While selling newspapers at a Paris kiosk, Rouaud published his first novel. The Goncourt prize allowed him to give up that job.
A trilogy that became a series
*Fields of Glory* was at first thought to be the opening volume of a trilogy. The family history eventually grew into five books.
Original Filopedia text based on Wikipedia (es) and Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.