Saturday, June 23, 2007

The Sound of One Tooth Gnashing

Residents of the little French town of Lussaud (pop. 25) are up in arms over their depiction in Pierre Jourde's novel Pays Perdu. Five of them are currently on trial for actually attacking the author's house with stones in 2003.

What provoked such biblical outrage? Passages such as this: "That curious tradition of having only one tooth could have been taken for a fashion, a form of dandyism, like wearing a monocle. It seemed an aesthetic expression rather than a necessity. Because one lone tooth--is it any better than having none?"

Pays Perdu isn't available in English just yet, but you can read the Guardian's coverage here. A Year in Provence this ain't.--David E

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