Boris Vian discussion

Do you know any? By the way I do not mean V. Sullivan works.

I think writers like Raymond Roussel, Alfred Jarry, Raymond Queneau (he was friends with Queneau), PG Wodehouse, and my understanding is that he had a thing for the classics. Greek, etc.

And on the Sullivan side, he loved Science fiction novels and of course noir work.

Thank you very much. Didn't Vian create Sullivan works just for making money? Because even L'écume des jours wasn't able to get the attention it deserved.

This is not what I am too sure about. But I imagine the Vernon Sullivan books were written to make money through Scorpion Press, who specialize in Noir fiction. "I Spit on Your Graves" was a freak of a novel on many fronts. One he wrote it and pretended it was written by a Black American writer 'Vernon Sullivan.'' But then the book got attention in France and because a huge censorship issue. After he was exposed as being Sullivan, Vian kept the name for three other novels. Two are noir, one is science fiction meets Hardy Boys (To Hell With The Ugly) and the fourth i haven't read yet - but for sure books under the name "Boris Vian" didn't sell well. L'Ecume des jours (Foam of the Daze) which was written in the late 40's didn't become successful till the late 60, way after Vian passed away. So generally when he was alive, his own works under his name didn't do well sales wise.