Agota Kristof

Le grand cahier

«Die Wörter, die die Gefühle definieren, sind sehr unbestimmt, es ist besser, man vermeidet sie und hält sich an die Beschreibung der Dinge, der Menschen und von sich selbst.»

«Das Grosse Heft», the first in a trilogy of novels, brought Hungarian-born writer Agota Kristof international acclaim. Set against the backdrop of her flight to the West in 1956, Kristof tells a story about truth and lies, identity and alienation. Her protagonists Lucas and Claus fill their big notebook with a language that is oppressive in its coldness and austerity. Sentence after economical sentence contrive to give the impression of objective narration free from any hint of emotion. Beneath these bare bones that evoke the minutes of a meeting lurk experiences that can perhaps only be come to terms with in this manner: the devastation of war, the day-to-day cynicism of times of crisis. Growing up with their miserly old hag of a grandmother, the twins help each other through tough training to learn the reckless alphabet of survival. They record everything in minute unblinking detail to protect themselves from what they are going through.
In this novel Kristof coined an extremely spartan, merciless style. From the outsider's perspective, she describes post-war life under a regime which sees the desire for freedom and independence as deeply suspect. At the end of the novel, Lucas and Claus go separate ways. While Claus escapes over the land-mined border, sacrificing his father in cold blood, Lucas remains. His story is continued in «Der Beweis» and «Die dritte Lüge».

(Beat Mazenauer, trans. by Andrea Willfratt)

Translation of title: The Big Notebook

Editions du Seuil, Paris 1986

ISBN: 978-2-7578-3870-9