Roland Topor

**Roland Topor** (7 January 1938 – 16 April 1997) was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surreal nature of his work. He was of Polish-Jewish origin. His parents were Jewish refugees from Warsaw. He spent the early years of his life in Savoy, where his family hid him from the Nazi peril.

Roland Topor's art may be best known for his graphic works with their surrealist humor. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His artworks have appeared in books, newspapers, posters, and film animations.

Few of Topor's writings are available in English. His fictions are sometimes classed as "post-surrealist horror" that go beyond established limits, to portray carnivalesque worlds of bizarre situations, in which human realities that are normally unspoken are laid bare in confrontations with (using Topor's phrase) "le sang, la merde et le sexe" (blood, shit, and sex).

Roland Topor wrote two songs for Megumi Satsu, "Je m'aime" and "Monte dans mon Ambulance".

With René Laloux, Topor made "The Dead Times" (Les Temps morts, 1964), "The Snails" (Les Escargots, 1965) and their most famous work, the feature length *La Planète sauvage* (1973).

Topor also worked as an actor, his most famous part being Renfield in Werner Herzog's *Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht* (1979). In the same year, he also performed the surrealistic paralyzed boss in the movie *Ratataplan* by Maurizio Nichetti.

In 2010, the French publishing company United Dead Artists founded by Stéphane Blanquet published an oversized book "ReBonjour" on the work of Topor.

No Ordinary Fairy

***Bibliography:***

**Novels**

* *The Chimeric Tenant* ( **1964** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *The Tenant* [English] ( **1966** )
	+ **Translation:** *Der Mieter* [German] ( **1976** )
	+ **Translation:** *The Tenant* [English] [ **forthcoming: Nov 03 2020** ]
* *Joko celebrates her birthday* ( **1969** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Joko's Anniversary* [English] ( **1970** )
	+ **Translation:** *Jokos Ehrentag oder der Kongress reitet auf Joko* [German] ( **1974** )

**Collections**

* *Four roses for Lucienne* ( **1967** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Verhalen en tekeningen* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
	+ **Translation:** *Een fee zoals je ze niet alle dagen tegenkomt* [Dutch] ( **1974** )

**Short Fiction**

* *Mad Love* ( **1960** )
* *The Cost of Living* ( **1961** )
* *A Good Joke* ( **1961** )
* *Thunderstorms* ( **1962** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Onweer* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *On point* ( **1963** )
* *A Great Man* ( **1963** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Een groot man* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The Sacrifice of a Father* ( **1963** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Het offer van een vader* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
	+ **Translation:** *Het offer van een vader* [Dutch] ( **1980** )
* *The sweetness of life* ( **1963** )
* *The Show is Permanent* ( **1964** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Doorlopende voorstelling* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
	+ **Translation:** *El espectáculo es continuado* [Spanish] ( **1972** )
* *Proof by the absurd* ( **1964** )
* *A Fairy Like No Other* ( **1965** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Een fee zoals je ze niet alle dagen tegenkomt* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
	+ **Translation:** *Eine ungewöhnliche Fee* [German] ( **1982** )
* *The Telephone Call* ( **1966** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Telefoon* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Quatre roses pour Lucienne* ( **1966** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Four roses for Lucienne* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The Game* ( **1966** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Игра* ? [Russian] ( **1993** ) [ **as by** Роланд Топор ? ]
* *Teeth of the Vampire* ( **1966** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De tanden van de vampier* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Class in the Abyss* ( **1967** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De klas in de afgrond* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
	+ **Translation:** *A aula no abismo* [Portuguese] ( **2008** )
* *Pendulum* ( **1967** )
* *Spiritual Food* ( **1967** ) also appeared as:
	+ **Variant:** *Spiritual Food* ( **1967** ) [ **as by** Topor ]
	+ **Translation:** *Geestelijk voedsel* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Gedeelde smart is halve smart* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Zo komen snoepers te pas* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Parisul, boema și Art Noveau* ? [Romanian] ( **1987** )
* *Conquering Man* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Ter verovering van de mens* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Child's Alibi* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Alibi van een kind* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Round trip* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *´n retourtje* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Dearest Friends* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Lieve vrienden ...* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Fuck the Queen* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De koningin neuken* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Christmas Tale* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Kerstsprookje* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Occasionally, the weather ...* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De tijd, die van tijd tot tijd ...* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The accident* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Het ongeluk* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Execution* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De executie* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The good deed* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De goede daad* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Justice prosecuting the crime* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De politie volgt het spoor* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Hand passes* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Handjeplak* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The truth about Louis XVII* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De waarheid over Lodewijk XVII* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Le bon coin* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De juiste plaats* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The darling* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Het lievelingetje* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The Holy Fire* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Het heilige vuur* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The newcomer* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De nieuwe wereldburger* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The Rotten Kingdom* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Het bedorven koninkrijk* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The puzzles of the story* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De raadselen der geschiedenis* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *The liberators* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De bevrijders* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Bad audience* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *´n slecht publiek* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Feeding the Hungry* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *De hongerigen voeden* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Without complex* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Zonder complex* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Silence, we dream* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Stilte svp, er wordt hier gedroomd* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Standing* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Standing* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Too clean* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Te rein* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *A Cunning Fellow* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Een loze vos* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *A dirty character* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Een rotkarakter* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *A delicate operation* ( **unknown** ) only appeared as:
	+ **Translation:** *Een moeilijke operatie* [Dutch] ( **1968** )

**Cover Art**

* *Verhalen in tekeningen* [Dutch] ( **1968** )
* *Wilt u in Eps wonen?* [Dutch] ( **1971** )
* *The Snail on the Slope* ( **1972** ) [ **only as by** Topor ]
* *Frozen Tales* ( **1974** )
* *Een fee zoals je ze niet alle dagen tegenkomt* [Dutch] ( **1974** )
* *Stories as if ...* ( **1975** )
* *188 tales to settle* ( **1988** )
* *Human Blazes* ( **1988** )
* *Monsters on Order* ( **1988** )
* *The Vile Invasion* ( **1988** )
* *Dream of the Flesh* ( **1988** )
* *In Search of the Lost Bodies* ( **1988** )
* *Zero Hour* ( **1988** )
* *Blood Festival* ( **1988** )
* *Back to the ball, in Dalstein* ( **1988** )
* *Extermination* ( **1989** )
* *Howls n ° 3* ( **1989** )
* *Stories To Sleep Without You* ( **1990** )
* *Clawed Tales* ( **1993** )

**Interior art**

* *Humor* ( **1963** )
* *The Siamese Brothers* ( **1965** ) [ **only as by** Topor ]
* *Kuningatar Hanhenjalan ravintola* [Finnish] ( **1968** )
* *Frozen Tales* ( **1974** )
* *188 tales to settle* ( **1988** )