The Prospector

From master storyteller J. M. G. Le Cl zio: winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. "A novel of intense beauty."--Review of Contemporary Fiction

The Prospector is the crowning achievement from one of France's preeminent novelists and a work rich with sensuality and haunting resonance. It is the turn of the century on the island of Mauritius, and young Alexis L'Etang enjoys an idyllic existence with his parents and beloved sister: sampling the pleasures of privilege, exploring the constellations and tropical flora, and dreaming of treasure buried long ago by the legendary Unknown Corsair.

But with his father's death, Alexis must leave his childhood paradise and enter the harsh world of privation and shame. Years later, Alexis has become obsessed with the idea of finding the Corsair's treasure and, through it, the lost magic and opulence of his youth. He abandons job and family, setting off on a quest that will take him from remote tropical islands to the hell of World War I, and from a love affair with the elusive Ouma to a momentous confrontation with the search that has consumed his life.

By turns harsh and lyrical, pointed and nostalgic, The Prospector is "a parable of the human condition" (Le Monde) by one of the most significant literary figures in the world today.

Author: J. M. G. Le Clézio
Publisher: Verba Mundi
Published: 09/01/1994
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.70w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9780879239763

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 10/15/1993 pg. 418
Library Journal 10/15/1993
Publishers Weekly 09/20/1993

About the Author
Le Clézio, J. M. G.: -

Awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature, J. M. G. Le Clézio is a French-Mauritian author of over forty works. The Nobel Prize committee described him as an "author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization."