Fragments, déchets et choses inutiles dans Nikolski de Nicolas Dickner

Abstract

This article is a case study focusing on Nikolski (2005), the first novel by the contemporary Quebec writer Nicolas Dickner. My analysis aims to show that the aesthetics of this multifaceted novel is based on fragmentation and on the enormous imaginative potential of waste and rubbish. I begin by examining fragmentation as Dickner’s main narrative strategy, visible at both deep and superficial levels of the text. I also consider how fragments function in the novel: it turns out that they point to the fragmented nature of knowledge and at the same time serve to engage the reader. Secondly, I reflect on waste, an essential and recurring thematic component in the novel, and on the different meanings it carries. The case study concludes with an overview of Dickner’s perception of useless materials and things as expressed in his playful and instructive puzzle novel, devoid of any explicit ideology.