''Péplum'' is a novel in French by the Belgian author

Amélie Nothomb Baroness Fabienne Claire Nothomb (; born 13 August 1967''État présent de la noblesse belge'', éditions of 1979, 1995 and 2010. Her birth is announced in n° 87, aout 1967, p. 340 of the ''Bulletin de l'association de la noblesse du royaume de ...

, first published in 1996 by

Éditions Albin Michel Éditions Albin Michel is a French publisher. In January 2019, the new President and CEO is Gilles Haéri. In January 2022, the director is Anna Pavlowitch, the daughter of Paul Pavlowitch. History It was founded in 1900 by Albin Michel. They ...

. This futuristic novel is presented as an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. A young writer named A.N. is brought to the hospital for a minor operation. Upon waking up she finds herself in an unknown room, very different from her hospital room. She then meets Celsius, a mysterious scientist, who explains that between her surgery and the time she woke up 585 years have passed and it is now 2580. A dialogue takes place between the young novelist and the scientist from the future, and they discuss numerous topics, such as the scarcity of energy resources, political systems, the classical authors, as well as

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and "the great war of the twenty-second century".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peplum (Nothomb) 1996 Belgian novels Novels by Amélie Nothomb Belgian science fiction novels French-language novels Éditions Albin Michel books