Translingual Russian writer Andreï Makine shot to fame in France and abroad in 1995 when his novel Le Testament français won both the Prix Goncourt and Prix Médicis. To date he has written nine novels in French. In five of these France, francité and the French language play a prominent role. This article examines Makine's portrayal of his ‘terre d'accueil’, its culture, people and language. It argues that after depicting a reassuring, mythical and idealised France in Au temps du fleuve Amour and the prizing-winning Le Testament français, Makine's portrayal of l'Hexagone in the later novels, Requiem pour l'Est and La Terre et le ciel de Jacques Dorme, is much more critical. It is in these later works that earlier dreams of a past France are juxtaposed with contemporary reality.
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