Explore Taboo Auto-Fiction with Best-Selling Author Christine Angot

Part of Litquake’s Words Around the World, co-curated with Villa Albertine and sponsored by Center for the Art of Translation/Two Lines Press.

In Incest, Angot delves into personal trauma through a fragmented narrative centered on Christine, a woman struggling with the aftermath of a relationship and the haunting legacy of her father’s abuse.

The Impossible Love shifts focus to the turbulent romance of her parents, Rachel and Pierre, set in 1950s France. In conversation with Stanford professor Cécile Alduy, Angot will provide insights into her evocative storytelling and the emotional depths explored in her work.

Christine Angot is one of France’s most provocative contemporary authors, known for pushing the boundaries of societal norms in her writing. Since the release of Incest in 1999, she has been at the forefront of public debate, challenging what is deemed acceptable for an author to express. Born in 1958 in Châteauroux, Angot studied law at the University of Reims and began writing at 25. Her work has earned numerous accolades, including the Prix France Culture (2005), Prix Flore (2006), and the Prix Décembre (2015) for Un Amour impossible. Angot also contributes as a commentator on the television show On n’est pas couché.

Cécile Alduy is a Professor of French literature and culture at Stanford University and an Associated Scholar at Sciences Po-Paris. A specialist in French literature, cinema, feminist studies, and political discourse analysis with a focus on the far right, she is the author of La Langue de Zemmour and Marine Le Pen prise aux mots. Alduy regularly contributes to Foreign Affairs, The Nation, Le Monde, and more, and is frequently featured on media outlets like KQED, BBC, and CNN. She is a Knight in the French Order of Arts and Letters.

Interested in learning more about Christine Angot’s writing and work? On Sunday, October 27th, join Christine Angot and Zoë Elton, Artistic Director of the Mill Valley Film Festival, for a screening of A Family (dir. Angot, 2024), a mind blowing documentary about a woman who, having experienced the brutality of incest, is determined to understand how her family has dealt with the situation. Tickets are available here.