ABSTRACT
Michel Tournier is something of a rarity among contemporary French novelists; his work has enjoyed great popularity among the general public, while at the same time literary critics have taken it very seriously. In an essay that appeared in his Le Vent Paraclet (1977; The Wind Spirit), Tournier points out the reason for his success and situates himself within the history of contemporary French fiction: "My goal is not to innovate form, but to express in a form as traditional, safe and reassuring as possible a content that possesses none of these qualities."
