Albert Cohen

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For the Canadian businessman, see Albert D. Cohen.

Albert Cohen (August 16, 1895, Corfu, Greece - October 17, 1981, Geneva, Switzerland) was a Greek-born Jewish Swiss novelist who wrote in French. He worked as a civil servant for various international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization. He became a Swiss citizen in 1919.

Although in 4 different books, Cohen's fiction can be considered as one long autobiographic-fiction. It is the story of the radiant Solal - Cohen's double - the handsome and successful civil servant of the League of Nations whose charismatic identity is a constant struggle between his jewish roots and his social status. His masterpiece, Belle du Seigneur, was originally including the novel that later was published under "Les valeureux". "Belle du Seigneur" is called "the book of love", and tells Solal's passionate, cruel and yet realistic love affair with Ariane Deume - a married goy. In 1968, the novel was prized with the French academy award. Since then, the novel is one of the biggest seller of the prestigious Gallimard white collection.