''Where Are You Dying Tonight?'' is a 1981 novel by the French writer

Michel Déon Michel Déon (; 4 August 1919 – 28 December 2016) was a French novelist and literary columnist. He published over 50 works and was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix Interallié for his 1970 novel, ''Les Poneys sauvages'' (The ...

. Its French title is ''Un déjeuner de soleil'', which literally means "a sun's breakfast" and is an expression for something short-lived. It tells the story of Stanislas Beren, a fictional 20th-century novelist, with excerpts from his novels and the events from his life that inspired them. An English translation by Julian Evans was published in 1983.

Reception

G. S. Bourdain of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the book "highly literate" and wrote: "The story, which begins in 1925 and ends in 1977, is a delicious merging of narrative passages with excerpts from Stanislas' writings (footnotes included) and flashbacks to the events of his life that inspired those writings, not to mention numerous references to actual books, poems, paintings and people. ... The novel's citations of authors from

Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

Maugham Maugham is a surname most commonly associated with the English literary family. The name is a variant of Malham, Malgham, and Malghum. Families with the name originate from the area surrounding Malham and Kirkby Malham. Well-known persons with this ...

, descriptive phrases about paintings by artists from

Giorgione Giorgione (, , ; born Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco; 1477–78 or 1473–74 – 17 September 1510) was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic qualit ...

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and mentions of real people from the period in which the book takes place are not only fun but also make one want to follow the Berens' trail through London and Paris to the art museums and trattorias of Venice. And the felicitous translation by Julian Evans never stumbles." Evans, the translator, wrote about the English-language edition: "The reviews it garnered were excellent; the sales made me want to weep."

References

External links

Publicity page
at the French publisher's website {{Michel Déon 1981 French novels French-language novels Novels about writers Novels by Michel Déon Éditions Gallimard books