Le ton de Patrick Modiano: du roman ironique au roman affectif

In this paper I will explore the way in which the characteristics of Modiano’s tone are expressed in the texts, the way in which the author individualizes himself. A tone so hard to cease as it seems at first neutral, but behind the sentences, are hidden elements that contribute to the specific tone and even to the voice of the writer. In considering the work, one finds that the voice of Modiano is not homogeneous. The tone of young writer of the seventies is no longer that of the writer of the nineties. He has suffered metamorphosis and has evolved significantly. In comparing La Place de l’étoile to Dora Bruder, one becomes well aware of the transformation: the tone first shining and thundering, is weakened to become, almost imperceptible and reflects the fact that the representation of the Holocaust in these two books is quite different.