J. M. G. LE CLÉZIO'S URBAN PHANTOMS AND THE PARADOX OF INVISIBILITY.

Many of Le Clézio's protagonists resemble phantasmal beings, appearing, disappearing, and reappearing without explanation in works such as Desert, Poisson d'or, and Voyages de l'autre côté. However, it is in the novella Fantômes dans la rue that Le Clézio utilizes cinematic and metafictive techniques to develop this metaphor to its true potential, denouncing the evils of modernity and giving a voice to the disenfranchised and marginalized. Le Clézio depicts the struggles of those on the periphery of society, presenting a bleak assessment of the ramifications of globalization. His destabilizing analogy breathes life into the invisible beings haunting modern society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]