''99 Francs'' is a 2000 novel by French writer

Frédéric Beigbeder Frédéric Beigbeder (; born 21 September 1965) is a French writer, literary critic and television presenter. He won the Prix Interallié in 2003 for his novel ''Windows on the World'' and the Prix Renaudot in 2009 for his book ''Un roman françai ...

. The book was released in France on August 2000 through Grasset & Fasquelle and has since been re-released under the titles ''€ 14.99'' and ''€ 5.90''. Shortly after the book's initial release Beigbeder was fired from his advertising job after his employers read ''99 Francs''. In 2007 the book was adapted into a film by the same name that was directed by

Jan Kounen Jan Kounen (born Jan Coenen; 2 May 1964) is a Netherlands-born French film director and producer. In France, he is mostly known for his films ''Dobermann'' (1997), '' Blueberry, l'experience secrete'' (2004) and ''99 francs'' (2007). Outside Fr ...

and written by

Nicolas & Bruno Nicolas and Bruno are a duo of French film directors, screenwriters, Dialogues and actors, composed of ''Nicolas Charlet'' and ''Bruno Lavaine.'' They owe their fame to their comedies '' Message à caractère informatif'' and '' In Search Of The ...

Summary

The book follows Octave Parengo, a successful

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

that appears to have it all. Not only is his job going well, but he has surrounded himself with expensive material goods, beautiful women, and much cocaine. That easygoing life ends when he becomes disillusioned with his life and his job after a meeting with a client.

Reception

Jonathan Evans questioned the book's 2002 English translation, which changed the book's setting from France to England as well as changing francs to pounds. ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' reviewer

Nicholas Lezard Nicholas Andrew Selwyn LezardThe Cambridge University List of Members up to 31 December 1991, Cambridge University Press, p. 814 is an English journalist, author and literary critic. Background and education The Lezard family went from London to Ki ...

also commented on the changes to the book, stating that the "geographical and cultural translations are by no means consistent or necessarily successful".

Adaptations

Theater

A stage production of ''99 Francs'' was performed in the

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

Theater that was directed by Stéphane Aucante.

Film

In 2004 it was announced that a film adaptation of ''99 Francs'' was in development. The film was released on September 26, 2007 and was praised by AgoraVox as being "uncompromising".

References

2000 French novels French autobiographical novels French novels adapted into films Novels about advertising {{2000s-autobio-novel-stub