The Shape of a City

The Shape of a City (French: La Forme d'une ville) is a 1985 book by the French writer Julien Gracq. It is a portrait of Nantes, the city where Gracq grew up, in the form of memories, anecdotes, reflections and dreamlike descriptions.[1] The title comes from a quotation by Charles Baudelaire: "The shape of a city, as we all know, changes more quickly than the mortal heart". An English translation by Ingeborg M. Kohn was published in 2005.[2]

First edition
AuthorJulien Gracq
Original titleLa Forme d'une ville
TranslatorIngeborg M. Kohn
PublisherJosé Corti
Publication date
1985
Published in English
2005
Pages213
ISBN9782714301062

Reception

In 2007, Thomas McGonigle described the book for Los Angeles Times as "a model for how to write about one’s home place[.] ... It should be required reading for anyone setting out to describe their home place."[3]

References

  1. Mongin, Olivier (2003). "Julien Gracq et la Forme d'une ville". De la ville et du citadin (in French). Marseille: Éditions Parenthèses. p. 41-43. ISBN 2-86364-141-7.
  2. "The shape of a city". WorldCat. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
  3. McGonigle, Thomas (2007-12-31). "The passing of Julien Gracq". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-04-25.


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