Des éclairs
Book • 2010
Jean Echenoz's 'Des éclairs' ('Lightning') is a fictional biography of Nikola Tesla that reimagines the inventor's life through a concise, stylish narrative emphasizing his eccentric genius and visionary experiments.
Echenoz blends archival detail with fiction to probe the myth-making around technological pioneers and the interplay between personality and invention.
The book highlights Tesla's marginalization and the cultural narratives that recast him as a heroic outsider in contrast to establishment figures.
Echenoz's prose captures both the glamour and melancholy of scientific celebrity, offering a reflective meditation on creativity, ambition, and the costs of innovation.
The novel contributes to contemporary cultural retellings of Tesla as an avatar of the solitary, transgressive inventor.
Echenoz blends archival detail with fiction to probe the myth-making around technological pioneers and the interplay between personality and invention.
The book highlights Tesla's marginalization and the cultural narratives that recast him as a heroic outsider in contrast to establishment figures.
Echenoz's prose captures both the glamour and melancholy of scientific celebrity, offering a reflective meditation on creativity, ambition, and the costs of innovation.
The novel contributes to contemporary cultural retellings of Tesla as an avatar of the solitary, transgressive inventor.
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Ana Oancea
Ana I. Oancea, "Dangerous Creations: The Inventor Novel in Fin-de-siècle France" (U Toronto Press, 2025)
