A short life of the author
Frédéric Beigbeder (b. 1965) was born on 21 September 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He studied at Sciences Po Paris. He worked in advertising for a major agency before writing fiction. He is a literary critic and television personality and runs the annual Prix de Flore literary prize.
Life and Career
Mémoires d’un jeune homme dérangé (1990) was his debut. 99 Francs (2000) — a satirical novel about Octave Parango, an advertising creative director who loathes his industry and himself — was a bestseller in France and captured the cynicism and excess of the advertising world. It was adapted as a 2007 film.
Windows on the World (2003) — alternating between the last minutes of a father and two sons eating breakfast in the Windows on the World restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and Beigbeder’s own experience watching the attacks on television in Paris — was deeply controversial. Critics debated whether fiction should attempt to represent the attacks in real time. The novel won the Prix Interallié.
Un roman français (2009, A French Novel) — a memoir about being arrested for cocaine possession and reflecting on his bourgeois upbringing — won the Prix Renaudot.
Key Works
- 99 Francs (2000)
- Windows on the World (2003)
- A French Novel (2009)
Collecting Beigbeder
French editions (Grasset) are the true firsts and bring $10–$25.