Open Access

This essay examines Agota Kristof's use of the French language in a French-Hungarian edition of her poetry entitled "Clous / Szögek" ("Nails"). Furthermore, the close reading of her collected poems and her autobiography "L'Analphabète" ("The Illiterate") reveals the complexity of Kristof's writing and her creative way to move between the two languages. The analysis of her syntax, her dynamic choice of verbs and the modalities of negation brings to light discursive caracteristics of the Hungarian language, her mother tongue. Lexical nuances reveal the emotional dimension concealed in Agota Kristof's texts while the phonetic dimension of her poetry creates a particular poetic voice. Consulting the archives of the writer preserved in Bern has confirmed the importance of Agota Kristof's linguistic exploration. Close reading of her texts in both languages reveals how childhood memories activate her first language and how her mother tongue helps her to remember past events.