Frédéric Dard. Les Salauds vont en enfer, Presses Pocket, 1963

Novelisations, the transcription in book form of a successful  movie are part of its merchandising. Such books  are not really  meant to survive the cycle of the film’s commercial exploitation. Their sell-by date is short. After that, they tend to simply vanish. They are seldom remembered. Much less conserved. Even their authors are obscure.  The movie casts a long shadow.  The novelisation  is destined for oblivion. It is hardly  a way for a writer to gain status. Nor literary recognition. The 1956  novel by Frédéric Dard Les Salauds vont en enfer (the Wicked go to Hell)  however offers the curious case of a novelisation which has survived much longer than the film to which it owed its existence. Continue reading →