Talking About the Weather in Le Météorologue and Dora Bruder

Abstract

Patrick Modiano’s Dora Bruder (1997) and Olivier Rolin’s Le Météorologue (2014) each tell a life story with a mix of documentary evidence and creative speculation. This article argues that the abundant weather descriptions in each text signal points of tension between factual reporting and narratorial interventions: they tell us as much about the author-narrators as about the subjects of their books. When Rolin describes weather conditions in Le Météorologue, he contributes to a picture of his subject as something more than a scientist devoted to the Soviet cause. When Modiano talks about the weather, he adds another facet to the inscription of Dora Bruder’s story onto Paris. Both writers use the weather to accentuate the bond they claim to feel with their subjects.