Epistolary novel in the digital realm: Sandra Lucbert

Sandra Lucbert's novel The Web (In German: “The Net”) is a reflection on literature in the age of digital communication and artificial intelligence. Through its specific form and the complex interplay of technology, power, relationships, and identity, the text illuminates fundamental questions of authorship and authenticity in an increasingly networked world.

Authorship and authenticity

The novel opens with a provocative "Avis au lecteur" (Note to the Reader). Here, the narrator explicitly identifies himself as an "Opérateur" (Operator) and vehemently denies being the book's actual author. He claims to have merely organized information and compensated for algorithms where artificial intelligence (AI) failed, as it supposedly "cannot compose a novel." This "true false preface" was his strategy for securing the contract by offering it for free—a tactic, according to the narrator, employed in the publishing world by exploiting the financial insecurity of recent graduates.

The title The Web This ambiguity is alluded to: it is a network of data and relationships, but also a "work without author or ethics." The operator sees himself as part of a "box" created by Amazon (via Mechanical Turk) for the entertainment of readers, an allusion to the historical "Turkish Chess Player," a seemingly autonomous automaton that was in reality controlled by a human. This underscores the central thesis: behind every seemingly automated or algorithmic operation is a human being, even if their role is rendered invisible or denied. The traditional rules of the Académie française are replaced by "e-reader data" to "increase literary efficiency from within"—there are no more "slowdowns, no style, no ideas, and no words with more than three syllables." Thus, the novel is a product of this digital economy and a reflection on its own creation and the transformation of the literary creative process.

When the author defines his own role as an "operator" who merely "cobbles together data," the question arises as to the authenticity of the narrated experience. Are the emotions and conflicts depicted "real" or also just "data" and "machines" acting? The novel merges these levels by presenting subjective experience within the context of data streams. Authenticity thus shifts from the creator to the collective, interactive, and often manipulated experience on the internet.

The novel is structured almost exclusively through digital forms of communication such as emails, messenger chats, Medium posts, and encrypted Jabber OTR messages. This form reflects the ubiquitous presence of the internet in everyday life.

At the center of the controversy is the agency LineUp, run by Agathe Denner (AAArg) and Guillaume Thévenin (GoogleATor). It is described as a digital arts company that provides artists with infrastructure, technical expertise, and funding. Denner and Thévenin are "Darwinian," controlling, and manipulative. They exploit the vanity of writers and the precariousness of graduates. A prime example of their manipulation is the event "Le Confessionnal," where guests are coerced into revealing their most intimate secrets, which are then used as part of an "artwork."

Maud Trévian, the lawyer and author of the book Le droit de disparaître (The Right to Disappear) begins working at LineUp to analyze the “gray area” between law and digital reality. Their story highlights the erosion of privacy and the need to resist algorithmic control.

Relationships in the digital age are observed: After Maud leaves New York, Ian Cole sends her obsessive emails that reveal a toxic, unrequited love. His "elegiac poetry" contrasts sharply with the instant, often superficial nature of digital communication and is flagged as "spam" by Maud.

The relationship between Anastasia Liovais and Alexandre Drilhon is disrupted by digital communication and the manipulations of Agathe Denner. Anastasia's struggle with digital addiction and her attempt at "digital detox" illustrate the difficulty of breaking free from the shackles of the online world.

The lesbian couple Marion Pisani and Jeanne Letterman become the targets of Denner and Thévenin after Marion sues LineUp for copyright infringement. Their relationship is manipulated by Denner, who begins an affair with Jeanne.

A recurring theme is surveillance and data capitalism, and thus the ongoing erosion of privacy. The novel criticizes cognitive capitalism, in which every human interaction and every "click" becomes a data point used by companies to maximize profits. The exhibition "Que se passe-t-il quand je clique?" (What happens when I click?) aims to raise awareness of these mechanisms.

The film showcases "hacktivism" and political action: Guillaume Thévenin operates as GoogleATor and Agathe Denner as AAArg. They are hacktivists who advocate for freedom of information and decentralization. At the same time, they use their skills to manipulate others. The Gezi Park protests in Istanbul provide an important backdrop: there, digital communication played a central role in organizing the resistance, but can also lead to commercialization and instrumentalization.

constellation of characters

The characters are less psychologically and psychologically drawn than functionally, serving to represent the complex dynamics of the digital age. The operator embodies depersonalized labor and thus the irony of the digital age. As a "quadragon without social security," he represents the invisible, cheap labor that keeps the digital "network" running. His absence as an "author" reinforces the idea that the product, the novel itself, originates from a collective, automated, and ultimately dehumanized source.

Maud Trévian is the analyst and observer. With her specialization in digital law and her book Le droit de disparaître She attempts to define the legal and ethical boundaries in the digital space. Her personal involvement in the manipulation games (especially with Ian and LineUp) makes it clear how difficult it is to maintain an objective distance and view the "net" from the outside.

Agathe Denner (AAArg) and Guillaume Thévenin (GoogleATor) are the architects and manipulators of digital power. Their dual identity as business partners and hacktivists reflects the ambivalence of the internet: it is a tool for freedom and decentralization, but also for control and exploitation. They are the "Darwinian" bosses who exploit human weaknesses and digital vulnerabilities alike. Their relationships—for example, Agathe's affair with Alexandre and the manipulation of Jeanne—are direct extensions of their power games.

Anastasia Liovais represents both the dependence and the potential of the individual in the digital realm. Her addiction to connectivity and her difficulties with the "analog world" illustrate the psychological impact of the internet. Her evolution from victim to "Hackeuse française" (French hacker) in the Gezi Park protests symbolizes the individual's potential to resist and to use the tools of the internet for political purposes.

Alexandre Drilhon, Ana's fiancé and a LineUp employee, becomes both a victim and a tool of digital manipulation. His relationship with Ana crumbles under Agathe's influence, and he is exploited by Thévenin. His initial naiveté regarding LineUp's methods and his subsequent efforts to win Ana back reveal the personal cost of the lack of boundaries in the digital realm.

Ian Cole represents the “lost” analog world and the power of obsession. His literary, yet often perceived as “spam,” emails to Maud are a commentary on the changing nature of romantic communication. His refusal to abandon Maud, even when classified as “spam,” reveals the indomitable nature of human emotions beyond digital control. His “elegiac poetry” becomes a tool for self-discovery and revenge.

Marion Pisani and Jeanne Letterman represent artists caught in the tension between creative freedom and digital exploitation. Their legal battle with LineUp and the manipulation of their relationship by Denner illustrate how personal data and relationships can become commodities in cognitive capitalism.

The novel is a virtuoso mosaic of these characters' digital communication, which decisively shapes the narrative style: emails often serve for more detailed, reflective, or emotionally charged messages, such as Ian's lengthy declarations of love or Maud's personal and professional reflections. They are the modern equivalent of the epistolary novel and allow the reader an intimate glimpse into the characters' inner world, while also maintaining a certain distance.

Messenger chats (using messaging apps like JabberOTR) are more fleeting and direct, reflecting the immediacy and fragmentation of digital conversation. They reveal immediate reactions, misunderstandings, and the ephemeral nature of online relationships. The use of encrypted services like JabberOTR underscores concerns about privacy.

Media posts and newsfeeds function as a public stage for self-presentation and branding. They demonstrate how private and political statements exist side-by-side on an equal footing in the flow of information and contribute to the "attention economy".

The chapters are titled "Session de [Name]" and function as a kind of record of a character's digital activity. This reinforces the impression that the entire book is a compilation of data, as claimed by the Operator. The predominant narrative perspective is that of a direct reproduction of digital documents. This results in a multi-perspective, subjective narrative style in which readers have direct access to the characters' thoughts and interactions. However, the framing provided by the "Opérateur" calls this apparent directness into question. There is no omniscient narrator in the classical sense, but rather a network of voices that influence and comment on one another. This reflects the decentralized and often uncontrollable nature of the internet. Thus, the novel's form itself is a commentary on the nature of digital communication.

Dangerous Connections

The book cover of Sandra Lucbert's novel The Web plays on Dangerous Liaisons, the canonical epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos from the 18th century. This comparison proves fruitful for the interpretation, as it The Web characterized as a transformation of the epistolary novel into the digital age, transferring the classic themes of power, manipulation and vulnerability into the context of networked communication.

In several key aspects, comparison can contribute to the interpretation: The novel itself is structured as a collection of digital correspondence, including emails, Medium posts, and JabberOTR chats (encrypted instant messages). This corresponds to the traditional form of the epistolary novel, with physical letters replaced by modern means of communication. The note to the reader at the beginning of the book is itself an allusion to the introductory texts of classic epistolary novels, in which the editor explains the origin of the "found" correspondence. In the case of The Web The "narrator" (the operator) is a data collector contracted to organize information, and not the actual author. This is a meta-reflection on authorship and the production of texts in the digital workplace.

Themes such as manipulation, power, and reputation play a role in a new medium: Dangerous Liaisons is notorious for his portrayal of libertine seduction, intrigue, and psychological warfare through correspondence. The Web This dynamic is seamlessly adapted to the digital world. The protagonists, especially the directors of LineUp, Agathe Denner and Guillaume Thévenin, are described as "ambiguous whistleblowers and opaque seducers" who "play on naivety, hack conversations and exploit the mistakes of their rivals or multinational corporations".

The exploitation of personal data and interactions also becomes a central instrument of power. Agathe Denner argues that the collection of digital data is about "profiling," placing people in an environment where everything is already algorithmically organized according to their supposed "wishes." She reveals that secrets can be uncovered retrospectively. This is a modern, technological variant of control and disclosure, as also seen in Dangerous Liaisons takes place. The events “Le Confessionnal” and “Tornade-Exercice spirituel,” organized by LineUp, are staged performances designed to manipulate participants and exploit their reactions and “confessions” to demonstrate and profit from the “beauty of transparency.” These events resemble the social experiments and intrigues of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont. Ian’s persistent and obsessive messages to Maud reflect the relentless correspondence in Dangerous romances Ian tries to emotionally influence and control Maud by describing his "suffering" and fantasies to her. Maud perceives this as a form of "violence" and "abuse".

The novel raises the question of how the concepts of privacy and self-determination can be defined in a world where digital traces are indelible and interactions are constantly monitored and exploited. The characters grapple with the tension between the desire for connection and the need to protect their innermost thoughts and feelings from the "transparency" of the internet. The illusion of free choice or withdrawal is repeatedly shattered by the internet's pervasive logic. The novel reflects not only the impact of digital technologies on human relationships but also the nature of storytelling within this context. The apparent randomness of the messages, the fragmentation of the narrative, and the obscuring of the characters' (and the author's/operator's) "true" intentions are direct parallels to 18th-century narrative strategies that sought to emphasize the authenticity of correspondence.

The comparison with Dangerous Liaisons raises awareness of this The Web It can be read as an insightful analysis of power structures in the digital age. He shows how the mechanisms of manipulation and control, once exercised through physical letters, take on new and potentially more dangerous forms in the online world, affecting our privacy, our relationships, and even our self-understanding.

Interpretation of the conclusion

The conclusion of The Web It is not a traditional happy ending or a clear resolution, but rather a reinforcement of the underlying themes of the novel:

The case of LineUp

Agathe Denner publishes an article outing her business partner Guillaume Thévenin as "impotent" and detailing LineUp's manipulative and exploitative practices—from nonexistent job offers to the auctioning of private secrets at the "Confessionnal." This leads to the closure of her own Medium account due to numerous complaints. Marion Pisani comments on this as the end of an era, as "the life and death of a digital start-up." But Thévenin himself sees this not as a defeat, but as part of an ongoing game. The dynamic of the "outing" and the backlash is itself a perfect example of the "attention economy" operated by LineUp.

The sequel to "Toile"

Despite LineUp's apparent defeat or "collapse," the manipulations and entanglements of the characters do not cease. Thévenin remains unmoved. Ana and Alexandre, involved in the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, find a new form of "usefulness." However, their newfound relationship is once again subjected to attacks from others. Ian Coles' obsessive "elegiac poetry" continues; he is "glad" that Maud still reads him—even from the spam folder. Maud herself remains in LineUp's service and continues to be fascinated by the "confusion they exploit." She sees her role as exploring and defending the boundaries of privacy.

Gezi as a microcosm of the internet

The events surrounding the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul illustrate the ambivalence of digital activism. On the one hand, they enable collective resistance and "openness of code," while on the other, they become the stage for further manipulation and commercialization (for example, the sale of "Occupy" memorabilia). Even "hacking" becomes a high-profile "exploit" whose ethical boundaries become blurred. The initially physical protests are amplified in their impact by the digital network, while simultaneously having their authenticity challenged. The protest itself becomes a "brand."

The illusion of control and the perpetual entanglement are not revealed at the end of the novel in the form of a redemption or a clear message. Instead, it becomes clear that the "net" is a self-perpetuating system in which control remains illusory. The characters try to set boundaries—Maud and Ana, for example, with their "digital detox"—but the net repeatedly sucks them back in. Even the end of personal relationships (e.g., Ana and Alexandre) is often a consequence of this digital entanglement.

The final autopoetological remark in the acknowledgments at the end of the book echoes a statement by the "Opérateur": "The stories in this book, while sometimes based on real events and people as background and protagonists, are products of the author's imagination. Everything is invented." This last line takes the reader back to the beginning, to the "Avis au lecteur," and reconfigures the entire reading experience. If "everything is false," even though it may be based on real events and people, then the novel itself becomes the "contrivance" that the Operator described at the outset. The text's authenticity lies not in its factual truth, but in its reflection of the performative and manipulative nature of the digital age. The novel is an artistic imitation of digital reality that blurs even the boundaries between fact and fiction.

The Web Thus, it is a nervous, highly original novel that challenges readers to question their assumptions about reality, communication, and identity in the digital age. It offers no easy answers, but rather depicts a world in which the boundaries between private and public, real and virtual, and freedom and control are constantly renegotiated and transgressed. The ending underscores that the "Toile" is a never-ending process, a continuous flow of information, relationships, and power struggles.