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This debut novel won three prizes, even though it doesn't offer a panoramic view in the style of Balzac. If this city imposes itself on me so undeniably, it's because details I've previously ignored accumulate, eventually forming a profound sense of citizenship within me. As the novel progresses, I unconsciously become one of the inhabitants of Thies. "e;The Arena"e; is a Romantic novel. But Quentin Corval, like Frederic Moreau in Flaubert's "e;Sentimental Education,"e; is too weak and stingy in his response to despair to bear the full weight of the sorrow that fuels Chateaubriand's theme of protest. Moreover, the Romanticism of "e;The Arena"e; is critical, and in mourning for itself, its melancholic energy has been drained. Does this mean we are witnessing an affirmation of a certain condition, or a protest against it? It seems to me that we are dealing with both cases together, according to a problematic phrase uttered by Yves Vilan, which I will modify slightly, to serve as my conclusion: "e;Romanticism is impossible, but it is necessary, it is necessary."e;