La Féerie américaine

The 1930s, despite the 1929 crisis, saw French writers rediscover New York with fresh enthusiasm. Transatlantic crossings were fashionable and sought after, and many writers, from Paul Morand to André Maurois, from Georges Duhamel to Céline, took up the subject. Pierre Malo, more accustomed to the shores of North Africa and especially Tangier, also tried his hand at the genre, producing one of the most accomplished books on the subject with this Féerie américaine. The text shows how New York “appears as a historical and artistic exception, elevated to the rank of a wonder of the modern world […] it is often this positive aspect that seems to prevail and color the collective imagination, especially at the moment of farewell” (Th. Gardereau, Les répercussions du voyage de retour sur la représentation du Nouveau Monde…). Malo’s own farewell is made of that same material: “Leaning on the ship’s rail, I exchange with all my friends who have come in crowds those melancholy and foolish words that tighten your throat a little more than you would wish. But there is no question of saying goodbye here. American hospitality and kindness are such that one leaves New York certain of returning soon […]. The parents and friends of those departing have crowded the docks. Pressed against one another, at the foot of the hull of the Île-de-France, they jump on the spot in an outburst of joy…” (La Féerie américaine).

Thibault Gardereau, “Les répercussions du voyage de retour sur la représentation du Nouveau Monde entre 1890 et 1945,” Loxias 30, September 2010.