"As Robert B. Johnson puts it in Henry de Montherlant (1968), 'Montherlant is French literature's twentieth century maverick,' and mavericks do not, on the whole, endear themselves to political bigots."
—John Fletcher, "Henry de Montherlant," French Novelists, 1930-1960
Chaos and Night by Henry de Montherlant (with an introduction by Gary Indiana) is forthcoming from NYRB in March 2009.
He is a fine author due an audience in English. I'm not sure the reason for Fletcher's quote, as such, but I'm sure it could have been referring to any number of Montherlant's conflicting qualities. I'm assuming it was a statement made in the 60's or 70's. In France of that era numerous very fine authors fell out of favour---Malraux, Mauriac, Celine, Bernanos, Montherlant. (The uniting factor being that they all were interwar authors of outmoded political sympathies.) Nonetheless, all of those authors remained in print in France; all in, among other editions, the Bibliotheque de la Pleiade collection.
Montherlant is the author of the group whose qualities may be the most repellent to modern American readers, but this particular work is a good choice. It is akin to the selection of Ernst Junger's The Glass Bees; wistful books both: part self-justification, part expiation.
Posted by: Huber Reid | November 02, 2008 at 08:59 PM