Louis-Ferdinand CELINE - Œuvres - 1965 Lot n° 5009

Paris, Éditions du Club de l'Honnête Homme, 1981 "He who speaks of the future is a rascal. It's the present that counts. Invoking his posterity is like giving a speech to maggots." In fact, while Celine condemns invoking her own posterity, her own as a French writer of genius, before the publication of her anti-Semitic pamphlets, is undeniable. Louis-Ferdinand Destouches, known as Louis-Ferdinand Céline, was born in 1894 in Courbevoie and died in 1961 in Meudon. He is best known for his Voyage au bout de la nuit, published in 1932 and widely considered to be one of the most innovative novels in French literature of the time. Its incisive style skillfully blends written and oral language, the writer arguing that "an entire book of slang is more boring than a report from the Court of Auditors". André Gide's quote, which has been quoted many times, seems to sum up Céline's work: "it is not the reality that Céline paints, but the hallucination that this reality provokes". However, it is impossible to dismiss the anti-Semitic dimension taken by the writer's work as early as the late 1930s, with the publication of two pamphlets. Thus, in the words of A. Duraffour, "Céline constitutes a notable exception in French literature. Recognized as a major writer of the twentieth century, he explicitly and ardently assumed racism". 9 volumes large in-8 full straw-covered, spines decorated with 3 black and 7 gold fillets, volume no. in tail, black and gold ornament on the covers. First and complete edition of the Works of Celine, copy numbered n°4803/5700 on Vergé. Upper gilded slices. Original illustrations in off-text colors by Raymond MORETTI. Facsimile of a fragment of the manuscript of Casse-pipe at the end of the 4th volume. Includes among others: Voyage au bout de la nuit, Death on Credit, The London Bridge, Semmelweis. Good condition.