What does the man who has everything―fame, fortune, a new love, and a new baby―want for his fiftieth birthday? The answer is simple: eternal life. Determined to shake off the first intimations of his approaching demise, Frédéric tries every possible procedure to ward off death, examining both legal and illegal research into techniques that could lead to the imminent replacement of man with a post-human species. Accompanied by his ten-year-old daughter and her robot friend, Frédéric crisscrosses the globe to meet the world’s foremost researchers on human longevity, who―from cell rejuvenation and telomere lengthening to 3D-printed organs and digitally stored DNA―reveal their latest discoveries. With his blend of deadpan humor and clear-eyed perception, Beigbeder has penned a brutal and brilliant exposé of the enduring issue of our own mortality.
FRÉDÉRIC BEIGBEDER is a French journalist and critic, and is responsible for the literary section of Le Figaro Magazine. Also a bestselling author, his novel 99 Francs both got him fired from his advertising job and established him as a controversial force within French literature. For his other novels, he has been awarded various prizes including the 2003 Prix Interallié and the 2009 Prix Renaudot. He is a regular guest on French national morning radio, and a frequent contributor to El País Icon (Spain), Interview (Germany), and Esquire (Russia).
FRANK WYNNE is a literary translator, writer and editor based in London, UK. He has translated numerous French and Hispanic authors including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Javier Cercas, and Virginie Despentes. His work has earned him numerous prizes including the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Scott Moncrieff Prize, and the Premio Valle Inclán. Most recently, his translation of Animalia won the 2020 Republic of Consciousness Prize. He edited the anthology Found in Translation collecting a hundred of the finest translated stories from around the world.
