Born in Paris from parents who met at the Sorbonne while studying German, he spent his youth in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He learned German early, staying each summer in Germany. His education was deeply marked by the German culture, music and Catholicism. Later he discovered the thought of Gaston Bachelard.

He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne and at the university of Tübingen and attended to Maurice de Gandillac's course. He wished to teach philosophy at high-school but, like his father, failed to obtain the French agrégation.

He joined Radio France as a journalist and translator and hosted L'heure de la culture française. In 1954 he worked in advertisement for Europe 1. He also collaborated for Le Monde and Le Figaro.

From 1958 to 1968, he was the chief editor of Plon.

In 1967 he published his first book, Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique, retelling Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, adding to the story a philosophical depth. He was awarded the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française for it.

• Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique (Friday) (1967) - Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française
• Le Roi des aulnes (1970) (The Erl-King translated 1972 by Barbara Bray, aka The Ogre)

Le Roi des aulnes was made into a 1996 movie Der Unhold (The Ogre) directed by Volker Schlöndorff. It has also been adapted for the stage by Tom Perrin. It originated as a post graduate research project at the Mountview Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2002. The show The Erl King was then taken to the 2003 Edinburgh Festival.[1].

• Les Météores (Gemini, 1975)
• Le Vent Paraclet (The Wind Spirit, 1977)
• Vendredi ou la Vie sauvage (Friday and Robinson, 1977)
• Le Coq de bruyère (The Fetishist and Other Stories, 1978)
• Gaspard, Melchior et Balthazar (The Four Wise Men, 1980)
• Le Vol du vampire (1981)
• Gilles et Jeanne (Gilles and Jeanne, 1983)
• La Goutte d'or (The Golden Droplet, 1986)
• Petites Proses (1986)
• Le Medianoche amoureux (The Midnight Love Feast, 1989)
• La Couleuvrine (1994)
• Le Miroir des idées (The Mirror of Ideas, 1994)
• Eléazar ou la Source et le Buisson (Eleazar, Exodus to the West, 1996)
• Journal extime (2002)