ABSTRACT
It is rare indeed that a literary obituary need to compete with fast-moving cultural events, but in the case of the author's memoir of the life and death of Romain Gary no sooner was it in print than the newspapers were carrying revelations which called for a bit of curious updating. It was in 1973 that a young and unknown French author suddenly was acclaimed as the author of a masterpiece entitled Gros-calin. No one knew the name, Emile Ajar, but he followed with another novel which also became a best-seller. Nobody had yet seen the famous author, and when he rejected literary prizes, journalists became even more eager to snap a photo and catch him for a quick interview. But alas, when Romain Gary committed suicide last December, with him also died “the young hope” of French literature.
