A young-adult novel by the most popular French classic of the 20th century. Romain Gary, a pilot, diplomat, hero of World War II, an excellent novelist, and a great mystifier, was awarded the famous Goncourt Prize twice: first in 1956 as Gary, and then in 1975 as Émile Ajar.
This novel has an extraordinary fate—indeed, the only one signed with his real name: Romain Kazets. The manuscript, given by the author to a longtime friend from his youth, was believed to have been lost forever. But half a century later it was discovered at an auction, and on the hundredth anniversary of the writer the book finally saw the light.
In the popular medieval genre of “the dance of death,” Gary tells about the incredible adventures of his slightly drunk hero in the afterlife. A novice writer gives full rein to his wild imagination and sarcasm. His caricatured dead people make merry from the bottom of their hearts, copying real living people. The novel sketches the plots of many well-known works that the later Gary-Ajar would write. The release of the book became a sensation around the world.