Engagement et mélancolie dans Écoutez nos défaites de Laurent Gaudé

Abstract This article analyzes the place of commitment and melancholy in the novel Écoutez nos défaites (Listen to our defeats) by French writer Laurent Gaudé (born in 1972). A dense, complex and multi-generic novel, it has a strong anchoring in contemporary historical events. Gaudé’s singular work, begun more than twenty years ago, scrutinizes the melancholy and lyricism which cross it in filigree, using universal literary heritage as its source – from Greek tragedy and the African tale, through immemorial myths and legends, to current world literature.