Chance Encounter

Name: Chance Encounter
ISBN: 9787532755493

让马·居·勒克莱齐奥Shanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaMar 2020

3.9

Word count: 126K words
Chapters: 15
ISBN: 9787532755493

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Summary

"Encounter" is one of the most important short-story collections from J. M. G. Le Clézio's later period, written after he won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature. It contains two highly allegorical stories, "Encounter" and "Angoli Mala": a girl chooses the sea as her soul's refuge, a boy chooses the forest as his spirit's kingdom. Beneath the illusions of a highly civilized world, amid pain, loss and longing, hidden tenderness and dangerous freedom stir. The protagonist of "Encounter" is Nahima, a mixed-race girl abandoned with her mother by her white father; by chance, at twelve or thirteen, Nahima disguises herself as a boy and secretly boards the great sailing ship Azar, owned by has-been film star Moerg. Blue sea, scorching air, strong sea winds—a voyage in search of freedom and self. "Angoli Mala" draws on an ancient Panamanian Indian legend. Bawito, an Indian youth raised in the city, decides at eighteen to return to his birthplace to seek the source of life and readapts to his homeland. After his beloved is killed, he kills her murderer and, hunted by police and smugglers, hides in the forest. While depicting the illusions of a highly civilized world, the author presents a kingdom of the soul, where amid pain, loss and longing, hidden tenderness stirs, in pursuit of the absolute and of freedom."

Editor's review

偶遇 is a short story collection by Nobel laureate J. M. G. Le Clézio, full of poetry and philosophical reflection. It is not his best-known novel, but it serves as a delicate key that opens a side door into the author's spiritual world. The book is permeated with a light sense of drifting and a keen insight into small things; the stories often take place on journeys, at borders, or in the crevices of everyday life, where characters are illuminated in moments of 'encounter' and then quietly fade away. Le Clézio's prose is spare and vivid, and he excels at capturing light, smell, and touch, dissolving grand cultural reflection and compassion for individual fate into seemingly plain narrative rivers. Reading this book is more like quiet contemplation: it offers no dramatic plot but invites the reader to sink into an 'atmosphere of existence.' For readers familiar with his works such as Desert and Wandering Star, this book is an important piece for understanding his aesthetic core; for newcomers, it is an excellent, low-burden entry sample that lets you experience, in short pieces, how this literary master uses the simplest language to carry the deepest nostalgia and a gentle questioning of modern civilization.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in works by Nobel laureates who wish to start with short stories
Literary lovers who prefer introspective, poetic, atmospheric writing over plot-driven narratives
People who seek deep reading experiences in fragmented time and prefer concise texts
Readers who resonate with themes of cross-culture, travel, and diaspora

Not a good fit for

Novel readers who seek tight plots, strong conflict, and clear endings
Complete beginners to modern and contemporary French literature who have no patience for quiet narrative styles

Reading tips

Read in a relatively quiet, uninterrupted environment to immerse yourself in the text's distinctive rhythm and mood
Try slowing down to savor the author's attention to detail (such as a play of light or a tactile sensation)
After reading, consider the symbolic meaning of 'encounter' in the book and how it relates to memory, identity, and contingency

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

版权信息
偶遇 Hasard
阿扎尔
娜希玛
默格
娜希玛如何乔装成男孩，登上“阿扎尔”，及后续
海洋
纳各纳的一场暴风雨
一个热带地区的派出所
船难
弗雷瑞斯的一季
几点对谈内容
麦德林之夜
审判
安格利·马拉 Angoli Mala

FAQ

How does this book's style differ from Le Clézio's other works?

Compared with some of his more epic or socially concerned novels, 偶遇 focuses more on the poetry of the moment and personal inner landscapes; its form is lighter and its philosophy more internal, representing his tendency toward 'sketch' and 'essay' styles.

Do the stories in the book share a unified theme?

'Encounter' is both the title and the core theme. Through characters' chance intersections across different times and places, the stories explore the fragility of memory, the fluidity of identity, and the rediscovery of self and other in unfamiliar environments.

What background on the author should I know before reading?

Knowing that Le Clézio has both French and Mauritian cultural backgrounds, and that his works often address themes such as wandering, marginalized people, nature, and the clash with modern civilization, will help deepen your understanding. But it is not essential; the text itself is sufficiently accessible.

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About the author

让马·居·勒克莱齐奥 Author

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio is a foreign-literature author included in this catalog, with two works currently listed: Encounter and The Book of Escape. Public information about his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name is limited, and the catalog provides no definitive details, so speculation without evidence is inappropriate. Judging from the fact that his works are classified under foreign literature, his writing is aimed at general literary readers, with subject matter leaning toward narrative works; the titles suggest themes of meeting and departure, carrying a sense of mobility and life's encounters. Although only two works are listed, they can serve as an entry point for understanding his creative profile: readers may note how character relationships unfold, how narrative pacing is handled, and the emotional tone revealed in the writing. A more complete biography and chronology of his works would require further public information.