Clochemerle
Gabriel Chevallier
  • Published: 15 September 2004
  • ISBN: 9780099453888
  • Imprint: Vintage Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $24.99

Clochemerle

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'The plot is a marvel of ingenuity and makes most detective stories look primitive by comparison' John Brophy

A funny look at the social and political dynamic of French village life.

Gabriel Chevallier's delightful novel Clochemerle satirizes the titanic confrontation of secular and religious forces in a small wine-growing village in Beaujolais. The eruption begins when the socialist mayor decides that he wants to leave behind a monument to his administration's achievements. He takes as his model the ancient Romans, who were famous for two things: hygiene and noble edifices. Thus, he decides to unite the two concepts...by constructing a public urinal in the centre of town. There is one problem, however: the chosen locale is next to the village church, and this outrages the ecclesiastical party.

*Perfect for fans of Joanne Harris’s Chocolate*
  • Published: 15 September 2004
  • ISBN: 9780099453888
  • Imprint: Vintage Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $24.99
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About the author

Gabriel Chevallier

Gabriel Chevallier was born in Lyon in 1895. He was educated at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and served in the French Army in the First World War. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and Chevalier de la Legion D'Honneur. After the war he earned his living at many diverse professions from art teacher to commercial traveller before devoting himself to his writing. He wrote Clochemerle in 1934 and Propre - rien in 1938. Gabriel Chevallier died in Cannes on 6th April 1969.

Praise for Clochemerle

The plot is a marvel of ingenuity and makes most detective stories look primitive by comparison

John Brophy

A fine satire, filled with humorous incidents and much subtle philosophy. It is for intelligent, open-minded people with a sense of humour

Yorkshire Post

The author has a wonderful eye for village types, and the village of Clochemerle is built up for us as a shining and integrated whole - he has chosen to employ his great talents in describing a series of people, episoded and conversations that are ribald, exaggerated and bizarre. I must confess that its rollicking grossness pleased me

Howard Spring

A full-blooded uproarious farce in the Rabelaisian tradition

Times Literary Supplement
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