As You Were Saying: American Writers Respond To Their French Contemporaries

At a time when the dialogue between America and France is strained by political and cultural forces, As You Were Saying provides a space for an important and riveting exchange between writers from these two countries. By pairing some of America's best writers with their French contemporaries, As You Were Saying shows us the importance of considering--and responding to--the world beyond our borders. A unique collaboration, the stories collected here were begun by the French writers, and then responded to by their American counterparts. The results are spectacular--funny and inventive, and an interesting look at the similarities and differences between how French and American writers approach the short story. This collection includes stories by some of the most important contemporary French and American writers, including these pairings: Marie Darrieussecq and Rick Moody; Lydie Salvayre and Rikki Ducornet; Gregoire Bouillier and Benjamin Kunkel; Jacques Roubaud and Raymond Federman; Jean Hatzfeld and Philip Gourevitch; Philippe Claudel and Aleksandar Hemon; and Camille Laurens and Robert Olen Butler.