''The Opoponax'' () is a 1964 novel by French writer

Monique Wittig Monique Wittig (; 13 July 1935 – 3 January 2003) was a French author, philosopher, and feminist theorist who wrote about abolition of the sex-class system and coined the phrase "heterosexual contract." Her groundbreaking work is titled '' The ...

. It was translated into English in 1966 by

Helen Weaver Helen Weaver (June 18, 1931 – April 13, 2021) was an American writer and translator. She translated over fifty books from French. ''Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings'' was a Finalist for the National Book Award in translation in 1977. Weaver wa ...

, and published in the US by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

."Monique Wittig, 67, Feminist Writer, Dies"
by Douglas Martin, January 12, 2003, ''New York Times'' The title comes from

opoponax Opopanax is the commercial name of ''bisabol'' or ''bissabol'', the fragrant oleo- gum-resin of '' Commiphora guidottii''. It has been a major export article from Somalia since ancient times, and is called ''hebbakhade'', ''habaghadi'' or ''habak ...

, also known as bisabol.

Plot introduction

''L'Opoponax'' is about "children undergoing typical childhood experiences like the first day of school and the first romance".

Structure

The book contains no common paragraphs, with each (regularly sized) chapter consisting of a single, extended paragraph. Chapters have no numbering or headings. It is written with the author addressing the protagonist as "you" and describing to her the events of the book.

Literary significance and criticism

The novel won the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .

in 1964.

Nathalie Sarraute Nathalie Sarraute (; born Natalia Ilinichna Tcherniak (); – 19 October 1999) was a French writer and lawyer. She was nominated in 1969 for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Nobel Committee member Lars Gyllensten. Personal life Sarraute wa ...

said, at the awards, "I shall probably not be there to witness it, but in ten or twenty years you will see what a writer we have honored here." ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' called it 'a charming feat of virtuosity'. ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' said Wittig has 'made what can only be called a brilliant re-entry into childhood.'. Mary McCarthy, in '' The Writing on the Wall and Other Literary Essays'' (1970), devoted a chapter to the book, describing it as "...the book I've argued for -- and about -- most of this year."

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

wrote of it: "It is a remarkable and very important book because it is governed by a single iron rule: that is, to use nothing but pure description conveyed by purely objective language. A masterpiece."

References

1964 French novels Books by Monique Wittig French bildungsromans Les Éditions de Minuit books {{1960s-bildungsroman-stub