The Submissive Head

Romain Gary (1914–1980) is a famous French classic with Russian roots. His real name is Roman Kacev, and the pseudonym Gary comes from the Russian verb 'to burn'. Under another pseudonym — Émile Ajar — he became the only laureate... in history of the second Prix Goncourt. 'The Submissive Head' is a novel about a mystifier by a mystifier. A young, beautiful ragamuffin without kin or tribe lives in a hut in Tahiti with a beautiful Tahitian woman and passes himself off as either an artist or a leper, extorting money from wealthy tourists. His true name is surrounded by mystery. Everyone can only guess why, in trying to break away from civilization and escape from himself, he fled to this island, which he cleverly managed to impose a 'tax on Gauguin'.