{"product_id":"on-the-line-paperback-2","title":"On the Line - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoseph Ponthus\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eStephanie Smee\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA celebrated French bestseller, this novel in verse that captures the mundane and the beautiful, the blood and sweat, of working on the factory floor in the processing plants and abattoirs of Brittany.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUnable to find work in his field, \u003cb\u003eJoseph Ponthus\u003c\/b\u003e enlists with a temp agency and starts to pick up casual shifts in the fish processing plants and abattoirs of Brittany. Day after day he records with infinite precision the nature of work on the production line: the noise, the weariness, the dreams stolen by the repetitive nature of exhausting rituals and physical suffering. But he finds solace in a life previously lived. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShelling prawns, he dreams of Alexandre Dumas. Pushing cattle carcasses, he recalls Apollinaire. And, in the grace of the blank spaces created by his insistent return to a new line of text - mirroring his continued return to the production line - we discover the woman he loves, the happiness of a Sunday, Pok Pok the dog, the smell of the sea. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this celebrated French bestseller, translated by Stephanie Smee, Ponthus captures the mundane, the beautiful and the strange, writing with an elegance and humour that sit in poignant contrast with the blood and sweat of the factory floor. \u003ci\u003eOn the Line\u003c\/i\u003e is a poet's ode to manual labour, and to the human spirit that makes it bearable. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eOn the Line\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'Poetic and political, lyrical and realistic, Joseph Ponthus' spirited elegy is at once surprising, captivating and affecting' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTélérama\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'It is not every day that one witnesses the birth of a writer' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrance 5 La Grande Librairie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'A work that is powerful, clever, benevolent, optimistic even. Essential reading' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCausette\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e'Be prepared for a battering of the senses with vivid, grisly prose' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrance Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoseph Ponthus\u003c\/b\u003e (1978-2021) worked for over ten years as a social worker and special needs teacher in the suburbs of Paris. He was co-author of \u003ci\u003eNous... La Cité\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eThe Suburbs Are Ours\u003c\/i\u003e) and his masterpiece \u003ci\u003eÀ la Ligne\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eOn the Line\u003c\/i\u003e) was published in France in 2019 to great acclaim. It won several literary prizes, including the Grand Prix RTL\/Lire and the Prix Régine Deforges, and became a major bestseller. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephanie Smee\u003c\/b\u003e left a career in law to work as a literary translator. Her publications span nineteenth-century French children's literature to her recent translation of Hannelore Cayre's prize-winning work of literary crime fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Godmother\u003c\/i\u003e. Her translation of rediscovered WWII memoir, \u003ci\u003eNo Place to Lay One's Head\u003c\/i\u003e, won the JQ-Wingate Prize.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoseph Ponthus\u003c\/b\u003e (1978-2021) worked for over ten years as a social worker and special needs teacher in the suburbs of Paris. He was co-author of \u003ci\u003eNous... La Cité\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eThe Suburbs Are Ours\u003c\/i\u003e) and his masterpiece \u003ci\u003eÀ la Ligne\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eOn the Line\u003c\/i\u003e) was published in France in 2019 to great acclaim. It won several literary prizes, including the Grand Prix RTL\/Lire and the Prix Régine Deforges, and became a major bestseller. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephanie Smee\u003c\/b\u003e left a career in law to work as a literary translator. Her publications span nineteenth-century French children's literature to her recent translation of Hannelore Cayre's prize-winning work of literary crime fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Godmother\u003c\/i\u003e. Her translation of rediscovered WWII memoir, \u003ci\u003eNo Place to Lay One's Head\u003c\/i\u003e, won the JQ-Wingate Prize.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.71 x 8.53 x 4.43 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51767289512224,"sku":"9781800243972","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/1476104edcbaaad1c51e16851e27c018.webp?v=1780308267","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/on-the-line-paperback-2","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}