Jacques Sternberg
Encyclopedia
Jacques Sternberg was a French
-language writer
of science fiction
and
fantastique
.
n-Jewish family. He was a poor student in school, particularly struggling in French. He began writing around the age of fifteen or sixteen. His early writings tended toward the fantastic and the burlesque
, and it was only somewhat later that he began writing science fiction.
After school Sternberg worked as a packer in a cardboard factory, before moving to Paris
with the hope of becoming a publishing writer. The literary climate of 1950s Paris was dominated by the Surrealists and Sternberg found some success in that environment. Sternberg never identified with either his Jewish or Belgian heritage preferring to think of himself as simply "mortal."
In his writings Sternberg never wrote of either the rich or the poor, but only of the employee, which represented the only world which he knew and could imagine. (source: Lamediatheque.be)
Sternberg, a very apt helmsman, owned a diminutive 12 Ft dinghy (Zef class, excellent for day cruising but slow and utterly unfit for racing) and often undertook arduous coastal treks, even in comparatively bad weather. An anarchist at heart, he rejected organized regatta and racing - Not unlike Bernard Moitessier
, the famous ocean vagabond - and wrote a biting satire of yachtsmen, sponsors and yacht clubs, in his erotic-nautical novel Le navigateur published at the peak of Eric Tabarly's success. Dinghy sailing means living a very close relationship with the sea and it is one of the keys to understand the important place of the sea in Sternberg's work, specially in what may arguably be his best novel Sophie, la mer et la nuit.
Sternberg died from lung cancer, aged 83.
In Sternberg's works, the causes of terror are not ghosts or vampires but the modern-day city
, often depicted as a giant, evil entity, ready to crush the hapless humans who dare live within its body. This theme reappears in novels such as L'Employé [The Employee] (1958), L'Architecte [The Architect] (1960) and La Banlieue [The Suburb] (1976).
Sternberg’s short stories
, collected in La Géométrie dans l'Impossible [The Impossible Geometry] (1953), La Géométrie dans la Terreur [The Terror Geometry] (1958), Contes Glacés [Icy Tales] (1974) and Contes Griffus [Clawed Tales] (1993), to name but a few, successfully mix several diverse elements: a very dark sense of Surreal humor, a kafkaesque
notion of the absurd, a taste for the macabre
, and finally, a somber, pessimistic vision of the world and the future
. In Sternberg’s fiction, love
is never a source of redemption, but something impossible, almost alien, as in Sophie, la Mer, la Nuit [Sophie, The Sea, The Night] (1976) and Le Navigateur [The Navigator] (1977).
Sternberg’s science fiction stories followed the same absurdist tradition and were gathered in various collections such as Entre Deux Mondes Incertains [Between Two Uncertain Worlds] (1957), Univers Zéro [Universe Zero] (1970) and Futurs sans Avenir [Future Without Future] (1971). Themes included aliens misguidedly posing as African-Americans to invade America, the 533rd crucifixion of Jesus
, the casual destruction of Earth
by aliens who cannot understand humanity, etc. Sternberg’s stories anticipate the experimental texts of the New Wave
and the humor of Douglas Adams
.
Sternberg's novels exhibit the same dark, misanthropic characteristics, minus the humor. Attention, Planète Habitée [Beware, Inhabited Planet] (1969) follows the same, merciless logic.
Sternberg also wrote for film director Alain Resnais
, penning the script of his 1968 surreal time travel feature, Je t'aime, Je t'aime
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-language writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and
fantastique
Fantastique
The Fantastique is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with science fiction, horror and fantasy.The fantastique is a substantial genre within French literature...
.
Biography
Sternberg was born to a well-to-do RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Jewish family. He was a poor student in school, particularly struggling in French. He began writing around the age of fifteen or sixteen. His early writings tended toward the fantastic and the burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
, and it was only somewhat later that he began writing science fiction.
After school Sternberg worked as a packer in a cardboard factory, before moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with the hope of becoming a publishing writer. The literary climate of 1950s Paris was dominated by the Surrealists and Sternberg found some success in that environment. Sternberg never identified with either his Jewish or Belgian heritage preferring to think of himself as simply "mortal."
In his writings Sternberg never wrote of either the rich or the poor, but only of the employee, which represented the only world which he knew and could imagine. (source: Lamediatheque.be)
Sternberg, a very apt helmsman, owned a diminutive 12 Ft dinghy (Zef class, excellent for day cruising but slow and utterly unfit for racing) and often undertook arduous coastal treks, even in comparatively bad weather. An anarchist at heart, he rejected organized regatta and racing - Not unlike Bernard Moitessier
Bernard Moitessier
Bernard Moitessier was a renowned French yachtsman and author of books about his voyages and sailing....
, the famous ocean vagabond - and wrote a biting satire of yachtsmen, sponsors and yacht clubs, in his erotic-nautical novel Le navigateur published at the peak of Eric Tabarly's success. Dinghy sailing means living a very close relationship with the sea and it is one of the keys to understand the important place of the sea in Sternberg's work, specially in what may arguably be his best novel Sophie, la mer et la nuit.
Sternberg died from lung cancer, aged 83.
Overview
Jacques Sternberg straddled the line between the fantastique and science fiction, which he stated was only a subset of the former in a notorious essay, Une Succursale du Fantastique nommée Science-Fiction [A Branch Of The Fantastic Called Science Fiction], published in 1958.In Sternberg's works, the causes of terror are not ghosts or vampires but the modern-day city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
, often depicted as a giant, evil entity, ready to crush the hapless humans who dare live within its body. This theme reappears in novels such as L'Employé [The Employee] (1958), L'Architecte [The Architect] (1960) and La Banlieue [The Suburb] (1976).
Sternberg’s short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, collected in La Géométrie dans l'Impossible [The Impossible Geometry] (1953), La Géométrie dans la Terreur [The Terror Geometry] (1958), Contes Glacés [Icy Tales] (1974) and Contes Griffus [Clawed Tales] (1993), to name but a few, successfully mix several diverse elements: a very dark sense of Surreal humor, a kafkaesque
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
notion of the absurd, a taste for the macabre
Macabre
In works of art, macabre is the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works emphasize the details and symbols of death....
, and finally, a somber, pessimistic vision of the world and the future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
. In Sternberg’s fiction, love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
is never a source of redemption, but something impossible, almost alien, as in Sophie, la Mer, la Nuit [Sophie, The Sea, The Night] (1976) and Le Navigateur [The Navigator] (1977).
Sternberg’s science fiction stories followed the same absurdist tradition and were gathered in various collections such as Entre Deux Mondes Incertains [Between Two Uncertain Worlds] (1957), Univers Zéro [Universe Zero] (1970) and Futurs sans Avenir [Future Without Future] (1971). Themes included aliens misguidedly posing as African-Americans to invade America, the 533rd crucifixion of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, the casual destruction of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
by aliens who cannot understand humanity, etc. Sternberg’s stories anticipate the experimental texts of the New Wave
New Wave (science fiction)
New Wave is a term applied to science fiction produced in the 1960s and 1970s and characterized by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, a "literary" or artistic sensibility, and a focus on "soft" as opposed to hard science. The term "New Wave" is borrowed from the French...
and the humor of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
.
Sternberg's novels exhibit the same dark, misanthropic characteristics, minus the humor. Attention, Planète Habitée [Beware, Inhabited Planet] (1969) follows the same, merciless logic.
Sternberg also wrote for film director Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
, penning the script of his 1968 surreal time travel feature, Je t'aime, Je t'aime
Je t'aime, je t'aime
Je t'aime, je t'aime is a 1968 French science fiction film directed by Alain Resnais. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the countrywide wildcat strike that occurred in May 1968 in France....
.
Selected bibliography
- La Géométrie dans l'Impossible [The Impossible Geometry] (1953)
- Le Délit [The Infraction] (1954)
- La Sortie est au Fond de l'Espace [The Exit Lies At The End Of Space] (1956)
- Entre Deux Mondes Incertains [Between Two Uncertain Worlds] (1957)
- La Géométrie dans la Terreur [The Terror Geometry] (1958)
- L'Employé [The Employee] (1958)
- L'Architecte [The Architect] (1960)
- Manuel du Parfait Secrétaire Commercial [Handbook Of The Perfect Commercial Secretary] (1960)
- La Banlieue [The Suburbs] (1961)
- Un Jour Ouvrable [A Working Day] (1961)
- Toi, Ma Nuit [You, My Night] (1965; transl. as Sexualis '95, 1967)
- C'est la Guerre, Mr. Gruber [It's War, Mr. Gruber] (1968)
- Attention, Planète Habitée [Beware, Inhabited Planet] (1969)
- Je t'aime, Je t'aime [I Love You, I Love You] (1969)
- Univers Zéro [Universe Zero] (1970)
- Le Coeur Froid [The Cold Heart] (1971)
- Dictionnaire du Diable [Devil's Dictionary] (1973)
- Futurs sans Avenir (1971; transl. as Future Without Future, 1974)
- Contes Glacés [Icy Tales] (1974)
- Lettre Ouverte aux Terriens [Open Letter to The Earthmen]1974)
- Sophie, la Mer, la Nuit [Sophie, The Sea, The Night] (1976)
- La Banlieue [The Suburb] (1976)
- Vivre en Survivant [To Live As A Survivor] (1977)
- Le Navigateur [The Navigator] (1977)
- Mai 86 (1978)
- Kriss l'Emballeur [Kriss The Packer] (1979)
- Suite pour Evelyne Sweet Evelyne [Suite for Evelyne Sweet Evelyne] (1980)
- Le Supplice des Week-Ends [The Torture Of Week-Ends] (1981)
- L'Anonyme [The Anonymous] (1982)
- Dictionnaire des Idées Revues [Dictionary Of Reviewed Ideas] (1985)
- 188 Contes à Régler [188 Tales on Account] (1988)
- Histoires à Dormir sans Vous [Stories to Sleep Without You] (1990)
- Histoire à Mourir de Vous [Story to Die Of You] (1991)
- Contes Griffus [Clawed Tales] (1993)
- Dieu, Moi et les Autres [God, I And Others] (1995)