by Vassilis Alexakis · Stock · tapa blanda · ISBN 9782234060975
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«Le premier mot» is the novel by Vassilis Alexakis, published by Stock in paperback (458 pages, in French).
Miltiadis, a professor of comparative literature in Paris, wishes to know what the first word spoken by a human being was, but dies before solving it. His sister promises to find the answer and explores various scientific disciplines, with encounters ranging from the language of babies and chimpanzees to the theories of Darwin and creationists. The search intertwines with characters such as the deceased's wife, his daughter, a young deaf woman rehearsing Antigone in sign language, and a Romanian beggar learning French.
Recommended for readers interested in contemporary French novels that combine fiction with reflection on language and its origins.
Vassilis Alexakis was a Greek-French writer and self-translator of numerous novels in Greek, his mother tongue, and French.
