French author wins Nobel prize
Jury says Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio is "an explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization."
French author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.
Le Clezio, 68, who was born in Nice but had strong family connections with Mautitius, grew up with both the French and English language.
After completing his secondary education he studied English at Bristol University with further study at the University of Aix-en-Provence and University of Perpignan.
The Swedish Academy said Le Clezio from early on "stood out as an ecologically engaged author" through the novels Terra Amata, The Book of Flights, War and The Giants.
The academy described him as an “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization”.
His debut novel was the first in a series of descriptions of crisis, which includes the short story collection La fièvre (1965) and Le déluge (1966; The Flood, 1967), in which he points out the trouble and fear reigning in the major Western cities.
His most recent works include Ballaciner which the academy described as a "deeply personal essay about the history of the art of film and the importance of film" in his life. His books have also included several tales for children, including 1980's Lullaby and Balaabilou in 1985.
Photo:Afp/Jessica Gow
