Based on the life of Postimpressionist painter Paul Gauguin, Jacques Jouet's Savage compels the reader to ask whether it is the primitive or the civilized man who is savage.At the height of the Belle Epoque, an eccentric young clothing designer searches for inspiration and identity as an artist among the "savage" peoples of France's colonies. Influenced by several exotic lovers, a quirky vieille dame, and Edouard Manet himself, Paul's increasingly unconventional designs parallel his increasingly unbalanced state of mind as he struggles to find a market for his work among the haute bourgeoisie. The failure of this venture, coupled with psychosis due to an untreated illness, ultimately leads to his demise.Jacques Jouet was elected to the Oulipo in 1983. He is the author of more than sixty books in a variety of genres novels, poetry, plays, literary criticism, and short fiction including the novel Mountain R, which was published by Dalkey Archive Press in 2004.