Le Goût de l'immortalité

Le Goût de l'immortalité, a French dystopian cyberpunk novel by Catherine Dufour, was released in 2005 by Mnémos. It won the Grand prix de l'Imaginaire in 2007 and cemented Dufour’s status as a major voice in French science fiction.

Set in a grim future of pollution and violence, the story follows the daughter of a Manchu prostitute in the hyper-technological city of Ha Rebin. Now over two centuries old, she writes a long letter recalling her adolescence and a Northern European entomologist named Cmatic, who came to China to investigate a mysterious disease and nearly became its victim. The narrative is structured as a single letter, modeled on Marguerite Yourcenar’s *Memoirs of Hadrian*, whose rhythm Dufour aimed to capture.

The novel explores each protagonist’s biography in depth, initially disorienting the reader. Dufour intended it as a science fiction debut “calibrated for men,” moving away from her fantasy roots. She described it as having “no emotion, a lot of politics, an abundant and very complicated plot that nobody understands, not even me.” The prose is sophisticated, and biotechnology and immortality, while seemingly liberating, ultimately trap characters in despair.

Reviews appeared in *Galaxies* No. 39 (2006) and *Bifrost*. Researcher Natacha Vas-Deyres (Université Bordeaux-Montaigne) calls it dystopian. Marcus Dupont-Besnard of *Numerama* lists it as a cyberpunk reference, with some critics noting that Dufour’s sharp turn to science fiction revitalized the genre. The novel also won the Prix Bob-Morane, Prix Rosny aîné, and Prix du Lundi, all in 2006.