The Adversary
Emmanuel Carrère · b. 1957 · France
Originally L'Adversaire (French) · translated by Linda Coverdale
Why it matters
Respectable doctor Jean-Claude Romand maintained an entire fake medical career for eighteen years before murdering his wife, children, and parents rather than admit the lie. Carrère's landmark 'nonfiction novel' narrates the crime while confessing his own uneasy fascination with it.
At a glance
Plain, controlled prose, though its blend of true crime and self-implicating narration unsettles genre expectations.
Deep dive
A respected doctor's entire career, referrals, and research funding were invented from nothing and maintained for eighteen years. Carrère's 'nonfiction novel' follows the lie to where it had to end, and confesses his own discomfort at being drawn to it.
