Albert Cohen (novelist)
A Swiss novelist who channeled the grand passions and painful exile of the Jewish experience into sprawling, operatic works of tragicomic genius.
1895–1981 (age 86)·Greek-born Swiss novelist·Birthday: August 16·The Lost Generation
Biography
Albert Cohen's life was a negotiation between the bureaucratic corridors of international Geneva and the riotous, sensual world of his imagination. Born into a Romaniote Jewish family on the Greek island of Corfu, he found a homeland in the French language. As a long-time civil servant for the International Labour Organization, he crafted diplomatic texts by day. By night, he poured his soul into a monumental literary cycle, *Solal* and its sequels, centered on the flamboyant, tormented Solal and his earthy, devoted mother Saltiel. These novels are vast tapestries of love, ambition, and Jewish identity, swinging from biting satire to heartbreaking tenderness. Cohen wrestled with the ache of assimilation and the shadow of the Holocaust, creating a unique, baroque style that mixes poetic grandeur with street-smart vernacular. He remained a somewhat secret giant of French letters, revered by peers but never fully embracing the literary spotlight.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Albert was born in 1895, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Albert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1895
Albert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1895Born
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1900Started school
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1908Became a teenager
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Could drive
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1913Could vote
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1916Turned 21
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1925Turned 30
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1935Turned 40
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1945Turned 50
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1955Turned 60
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 70
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1975Turned 80
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1981Died at 86
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
Key Achievements
- Awarded the French Academy's Grand Prix du Roman in 1968 for his novel 'Belle du Seigneur.'
- His novel 'Belle du Seigneur' is widely considered his masterpiece and a landmark of 20th-century French literature.
- Served as a delegate and later a senior official for the International Labour Organization for several decades.
Did You Know?
He was granted Swiss citizenship in 1919 after his family moved there to escape growing antisemitism.
He worked as a civil servant for the International Labour Organization while writing his major novels.
The character of Solal is widely seen as a semi-autobiographical projection of Cohen's own aspirations and conflicts.
“I write to bear witness, to prevent the ashes from disappearing into the wind.”
