About
Romain Gary, born Roman Kacew in Vilnius in 1914, was a French writer and diplomat. During World War II, he served in the Free French Air Forces and was decorated as a Companion of the Liberation. After the war, he pursued a diplomatic career while publishing numerous novels. He is the only writer to have won the Prix Goncourt twice, the second time under the pseudonym Émile Ajar for La Vie devant soi. His work, marked by humanism and irony, explores themes such as identity, exile, and memory. He died by suicide in 1980.
* 1914-05-08 — † 1980-12-02
Major works
- Éducation européenne (1945)novel
- Les Racines du ciel (1956)novel
- La Promesse de l'aube (1960)novel
- La Vie devant soi (1975)novel
- Les Cerfs-volants (1980)novel
Key milestones
- 1940Joined the Free French Air Forces in London.
- 1956Won the Prix Goncourt for Les Racines du ciel.
- 1975Won a second Prix Goncourt under the pseudonym Émile Ajar for La Vie devant soi.
Themes
IdentityExileMemoryHumanismIrony
Sources: data.bnf.fr · britannica.com