Malraux, André
Malraux's outstanding social novels, which reflect the tumult of his time, include La Condition humaine (1933; tr. Man's Fate, 1934), concerning the Shanghai uprisings, and L'Espoir (1938; tr. Man's Hope, 1938), set in Spain during the civil war. Amid violence and political chaos, his heroes struggle to maintain their dignity and humanity. Among his writings on art and civilization are Les Voix du silence (1951; tr. The Voices of Silence, 1953); The Metamorphosis of the Gods (tr. 1960), drawn from several of his works, including Le Musée imaginaire de la sculpture mondiale (3 vol., 1953–54); and Le Triangle noir (1970), studies of Goya, Laclos, and Saint-Just. In these works Malraux portrays art as an outgrowth of past art rather than a reaction to contemporary stimuli.
See his Anti-memoirs (1967, tr. 1968); memoir by C. Malraux (1967); biographies by R. Payne (1970), P. Galante (1971), J. Lacouture (1973, tr. 1976), C. Cate (1997), and O. Todd (2001, tr. 2005); studies by V. M. Horvath (1969), T. J. Kline (1973), W. M. Frohock (1974), H. Bloom, ed. (1988), G. T. Harris (1996), and J. F. Lyotard (2001).
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