Cause of death: Ruptured aneurysm
Location: Cimetière des Longs Réages, Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Photo taken by: Ferdinand.bardamu
Buy books by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
French writer who is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and world literature. He remains, however, a controversial figure because of three anti-semitic pamphlets that he published between 1937-41. Céline fled France during liberation and was named a collaborator. He was convicted in absentia in 1950, sentenced to one year of imprisonment and declared a national disgrace. He was subsequently granted amnesty and returned to France during 1951.
His best-known work is Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit / Journey to the End of the Night. Written in an explosive and highly colloquial style it violated many of the literary conventions of the time. The book shocked most critics but found immediate success with the French reading public.
Céline's legacy survives in the writings of Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, Queneau and Jean Genet among others. Céline was also an influence on Irvine Welsh, Günter Grass and Charles Bukowski.
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