Time Signatures: Contextualizing Contemporary Francophone Autobiographical Writing from the Maghreb by Alison Rice (review)

1 50Women in French Studies together observations on the spaces destroyed and created in mourning texts by four Canadian authors (Geneviève Amyot, Diane-Monique Daviau, Denise Desautels, Christiane Frenette). Death dissolves the boundaries of identity defined by dialogue with another; but narrating griefcan rebuild them. Territoires féminins offers a particularly provocative and welcome opportunity to delve into the female creative spaces in the north of North America. Undoubtedly, the dialogue established among these essays will inspire other scholars to further explore the rich theme of spatiality and women. Joan M. WestUniversity of Idaho Rice, Alison. Time Signatures: Contextualizing Contemporary Francophone Autobiographical Writing from the Maghreb. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006. Pp x; 346. ISBN: 0-7391-1290-2. $29.95 (Paper). With Time Signatures Alison Rice offers an in depth analysis of the autobiographical writings of three major literary figures in the Francophone tradition: Hélène Cixous, Assia Djebar, and Abdelkébir Khatibi. Rice's assemblage of these three writers is unprecedented, especially since Cixous's Algerian origins have historically been overlooked. Innovative in its approach, her book provides a valuable contribution to the field of Francophone literary studies, particularly in its thorough exploration of autobiography. Informed in great part by Jacques Derrida's critical work, Rice's analysis centers on musicality and what it can bring to a reading of these texts. Rather than simply asking readers to appreciate musical qualities in these writers' works, Rice effectively convinces the reader that music plays a crucial role in interpreting them. Her book opens with an overture questioning the term " Francophonie" and a well-conceived chapter on naming. She explores what is at stake in a name, both an author's given or chosen name, and how that author incorporates naming into her writing. She examines the significance of names and in this way demonstrates how works that have previously not been considered autobiographical can inform our understanding of autobiography. From there, the body of the book is divided into three parts, one pertaining to each of the three writers. While Rice explores some themes commonly associated with the writers (in one chapter on Djebar she discusses history; in one ofthe chapters on Cixous she discusses the writer's North African roots; and for Khatibi she includes a chapter on translation), she also includes new concepts: her chapter on Djebar's use of religious tradition and what this means in terms of her oeuvre is revelatory and broaches the question of identity in a way that goes beyond language and family, two of the most common ways of examining identity in Djebar's autobiographical writings. Throughout the book Rice returns to her emphasis on music as a vehicle for interpreting autobiographical writings from Cixous, Djebar, and Khatibi, but it is explicitly in her first chapter dedicated solely to Cixous and at the center of her Book Reviews1 5 1 book that she studies music "and its workings in the text" (187). In this chapter she engages in close readings ofCixous's texts and demonstrates the importance ofsonority to their understanding. Sound plays an equally important role in Rice's discussion of Khatibi's writings. Her careful consideration ofthe various linguistic implications ofthe terms "translation", "transcription", "transposition" and "transliteration" help to reinforce notions ofspace and travel but also clarify Khatibi's musical-textual project. Ultimately Rice concludes with a cadenza in which she convincingly summarizes her argument that language includes more than mere national idioms (3 1 8) and that these three writers approach writing the self in a way that reinterprets the meaning of autobiography and instead focuses on testimony. A comprehensive bibliography and well-organized index round out an impressive study. Rice's arguments are convincing, well-researched, and extremely welldeveloped . Time Signatures deserves high praise and is a welcome addition to the ever-burgeoning field of Francophone Studies. Those familiar with the writings of Cixous, Djebar, and Khatibi will find many new avenues of interpretation and those who work in other areas of Francophone Studies will appreciate and find useful the tools Rice deftly employs throughout her analysis. Pamela A. PearsWashington College Weaver, Karol K. Medical Revolutionaries: The Enslaved Healers of Eighteenth-Century Saint Domingue. Chicago...

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