Pilhes, René-Victor 1934–

PERSONAL: Born July 1, 1934, in Paris, France; married Nicole Ingrand, December 19, 1959; children: Nathalie, Laurent, Maria. Education: Collége de Saint-Girons, Lycée de Toulouse, Lycée Buffon à Paris.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Editions du Seuil, 27 rue Jacob, 75006 Paris, France.

CAREER: Writer. Air France, copywriter, 1960; Dorland & Gray, advertising writer-designer; Publicis (advertising/consulting firm), beginning 1965, design director, 1969; member of executive board of Publicis Conseil, 1972–73, member of management advisory board, 1973–74.

AWARDS, HONORS: Prix Femina, for L'imprécateur; Prix de literature Policière, for La position de Philidor; Prix Médicis, for La rhubarbe.

WRITINGS:

La rhubarbe, Éditions du Seuil (Paris, France), 1965, translated from the French by Patsy Southgate and Lawrence M. Bensky, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1969.

Le loum, Éditions du Seuil (Paris, France), 1969.

L'imprécateur, Éditions du Seuil (Paris, France), 1974, translation by Denver and Helen Linley published as The Provocateur, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1977.

La béte, Éditions du Seuil (Paris, France), 1976.

(With Jean-Pierre Imbrohoris and Didier Decoin) Toute la véerité [les scandals, dames, énigmes, qui ont bouleversé le monde: émission de Radio Monte-Carlo], Bernard Grasset (Paris, France), 1977.

(With Jean-Pierre Imbrohoris) Le nouveau toute la vérité, Bernard Grasset (Paris, France), 1978.

(With Jean-Pierre Imbrohoris and Grégory Frank) L'incroyable vérité, Bernard Grasset (Paris, France), 1979.

(With Jean-Pierre Imbrohoris) Toute la vérité 1980, Bernard Grasset (Paris, France), 1980.

(With Maurice Chavardés) Les plaies et les bosses, Table Ronde (Paris, France), 1981.

La Pompéi: la mort inouie de la comtesse: roman (novel), Albin Michel (Paris, France), 1985.

Les démons de la cour de Rohan: roman (novel), Albin Michel (Paris, France), 1987.

L'Hitlérien: roman (novel), Albin Michel (Paris, France), 1988.

L'médiatrice: roman (novel), Albin Michel (Paris, France), 1989.

La position de Philidor, Mercure de France (Paris, France), 1992.

La faux: roman (novel), Albin Michel (Paris, France), 1993.

Le fakir, Flammarion (Paris, France), 1995.

Le Christi: roman (novel), Plon (Paris, France), 1998.

La jusquiame: roman (novel), Plon (Paris, France), 1999.

Also coauthor of the screenplay for L'imprécateur, 1977. Work has appeared in anthologies and other books, including Le pére Goriot: une oeuvre, Hatler (Paris, France), 1983. Pilhes's books have been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, and Czech.

SIDELIGHTS: A prize-winning French author of stories mixing humor and suspense, René-Victor Pilhes has also had his works translated into English. In La rhubarbe, a bastard named Urbain Gorenfan struggles to find and gain acceptance from his birth family. Without revealing his true identity, he manages to ingratiate himself with his half-sister Beatrix, who eventually invites him to the family mansion for a surprising and dramatic conclusion to his quest. "The novel is a pleasing example of contemporary Gallic wit," wrote Library Journal contributor Mary E. Kelley. "Though it borders on the slapstick, it is highly entertaining…. A good tale. We shall hear more of Pilhes."

Some years later, English audiences did get a chance to read more Pilhes with the translation of L'imprécateur as The Provocateur. In this novel, the French branch of an American multinational corporation, the largest in the world, finds itself beset by strange events, including the death of a promising young executive, the sudden appearance of tracts on the economics of multinationals, and the discovery of cracks in the building's foundation. Gradually, unease gives way to absurd reactions, and the company begins to assume a menacing identity of its own. Writing in the Times Literary Supplement, John H. Mole noted: "The success of the novel … is due less to its message than to its acute perception of what is for many people their daily environment." Booklist contributor Budd Arthur called it a "savage and accurate portrayal of the business world's foibles." Writing in the New York Times Book Review, Stanley Ellin commented: "I wish that everyone with a sense of humor, an ounce of brains and a creepy feeling that something is seriously wrong with the corporate world around us would read" the novel. Pilhes also cowrote the screenplay for the French film version of the novel.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Atlantic, March, 1969, Phoebe Adams, review of La rhubarbe, p. 154.

Booklist, May 15, 1969, review of La rhubarbe, p. 1061; July 15, 1975, Galia Zilionis, review of L'imprécateur, p. 1166; November 15, 1977, Budd Arthur, review of The Provocateur, p. 529.

Choice, December, 1969, review of La rhubarbe, p. 1406.

French Review, Volume 60, 1986, Pierrette Daly, review of La Pompéi: la mort inouie de la com-tesse: roman, p. 168.

Library Journal, March 15, 1969, Mary E. Kelley, review of La rhubarbe, p. 1163.

Listener, March 16, 1978, review of The Provocateur, p. 343.

New York Times Book Review, January 15, 1978, Stanley Ellin, review of The Provocateur, p. 11.

Times Literary Supplement, May 19, 1978, John H. Mole, "Executive Suite," p. 563.

ONLINE

International Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/ (March 4, 2006), information on screen adaptation of L'imprécateur.