Clavel, Bernard Charles Henri

Clavel, Bernard Charles Henri 

Born May 29, 1923, in Lons-le-Saunier, Jura. French writer. A baker’s son.

Clavel served in the Resistance Movement. His novel Night Worker (1956) revealed the beauty of the soul of a simple man. The tetralogy Great Patience (1962–64) is the heart of Clavel’s oeuvre; his young protagonist is in many ways autobiographical. Critics have noted the influence of M. Gorky on Clavel’s artistic technique. The novels Malataverna (1960) and Hercules on Main Street (1966) are devoted to the complex lives of French youth. Films were based on Clavel’s novels Who Overpowers Me (1958), The Spaniard (1959), and Father’s Journey (1965). Clavel’s other works include books on art— The Life of P. Gauguin (1958) and The Life of Leonardo da Vinci (1967)—and a collection of essays—Slaughter of the Innocents (1970). He received the Grand Prix de Paris and the Prix Goncourt in 1968.

WORKS

le Tambour du Bief. Paris, 1970.
Le Seigneur du fleuve. Paris, 1971.
In Russian translation:
V chuzhom dome. Foreword by Iu. Uvarov. Moscow, 1966.
Tot, kto khotel uvidet’ more. Moscow, 1966.
Serdtsa zhivykh. Moscow, 1968.
Plody zimy. Moscow, 1972.

REFERENCES

Zonina, L. “Proshchanie s proshlym.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1969, no. 7.
Stil, A. [Review.] L’Humanité, Jan. 27, 1972, p. 8.

IU. N. STEFANOV