Le Sacrilège malais

by Pierre Boulle

Dans les années 1930, Maille, un jeune ingénieur français, que rien n'y prédisposait, se trouve engagé en Malaisie dans une immense plantation d'hévéas. Contant son ascension au sein de la Compagnie – personnage omniscient et omniprésent du roman –, Pierre Boulle décrit avec humour, ironie et malice l'absurdité et les paradoxes de la bureaucratisation et de la rationalisation à outrance, et dresse un portrait féroce du modèle colonial d'exploitation de la main-d'œuvre et des ressources naturelles. Largement inspiré de la propre expérience de Pierre Boulle, Le Sacrilège malais, son deuxième roman, éclipsé par les succès mondiaux de La Planète des singes et du Pont de la rivière Kwai, mérite d'être (re)découvert.

Genres: Asia

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Pierre Boulle (20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French novelist best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963) that were both made into award-winning films.

Boulle was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore, when he was captured and subjected to two years' forced labour. He used these experiences in The Bridge over the River Kwai, about the notorious Death Railway, which became an international bestseller. The film by David Lean won many Oscars, and Boulle was credited with writing the screenplay, because its two genuine authors had been blacklisted.

His science-fiction novel Planet of the Apes, where intelligent apes gain mastery over humans, was adapted into a series of five award-winning films that spawned magazine versions and popular themed toys.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is very reminiscent of Maugham as the subject matter and time period are alike - except it was written in French of course. For someone already familiar with the setting of colonial Malaya it did not hold my interest for long. The highlights were moments of drama and romance that burst forth out of the dreary and mundane day to day lives of the planters. Boulle successfully conveyed the utter pointlessness of the dozens of administrative tasks ordered by senior management, changing from minute to minute on a whim to the point of farcical comedy. Such was the surreal bubble the expatriates built for themselves in a foreign land that isolation from the daily lives and culture of the local Indians, Malays and Chinese was almost complete. This in and of itself wasn't particularly revelatory though, and there are just too many books out there in this genre that have a more exciting plot - many even based on real life events.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Assez partagée par ce roman, s'il n'est pas la satire du taylorisme que nous promet la 4eme de couverture il reste toutefois une critique assez juste des entreprises coloniales et de la bureaucratie qui se développe en son sein. Contrairement à d'autres critiques je n'irais pas reprocher l'ennui qui je pense est en partie voulu et sert son propos. Je trouve la fin du roman et la manière dont il décrit les rapports humains au sein de ce microcosme assez bien fait mais ça n'enlève pas une gêne présente tout du long sur la description des personnages féminins et des colonisés

[Paula Galvan · Rating 2 out of 5]

S.O.P.H.I.A. stands for "Society for the Overseas Promotion of Horticulture, Industry, and Agriculture." It's basically about a company mining rubber in Malaysia shortly before WWI. The characters do nothing but drink, nit-pick over company policies, and police the labor force. I found it boring and, in some ways, offensive. I expected a lot more since the author is Pierre Boulle, who has written some incredible books. But, sorry, I can't recommend this one.

[Franck Laboue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les rouages d'une compagnie d'Hévéa française dans la Malaisie coloniale des années 30, du vécu par Pierre Boulle. À découvrir

[unperspicacious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant...

[Chris Gager · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strange book. Not really and adventure-romance as the cover suggests. P.Boule the author of "Planet of the Apes" and "Bridge on the River Kwai". The title is an acronym for the plantation company.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://bibliotheca.skynetblogs.be/arc...