L’Esprit du temps

This article identifies four tendencies in the contemporary French novel that give a sense of the current spirit of the times. 1) Multiple forms of social reordering are happening simultaneously and doing so at such a rapid clip and at such a large scale that the human mind cannot properly adjust. 2) Fears of a world less natural and a world more technologized are among the most salient in contemporary fiction. The vulnerability of people in face of this change is central to many French novels written since 2000. 3) A central function of contemporary literature is to correct past mistakes by rewriting history or by broadening access to writers whose ancestors would never have been able to tell their stories. These are forms of literary reparation. 4) Form has taken a backseat. Instead, content, primarily of a sociopolitical nature, remains the central focus of contemporary writers.