Nouveau roman
Encyclopedia
The nouveau roman is a type of 1950s French novel
that diverged from classical literary genres. Émile Henriot
coined the title in an article in the popular French newspaper
Le Monde
on May 22, 1957 to describe certain writers who experimented with style in each novel, creating an essentially new style each time.
Alain Robbe-Grillet
, an influential theorist as well as writer of the nouveau roman, published a series of essays on the nature and future of the novel which were later collected in Pour un nouveau roman
. Rejecting many of the established features of the novel to date, Robbe-Grillet regarded many earlier novelists as old-fashioned in their focus on plot, action, narrative, ideas, and character. Instead, he put forward a theory of the novel as focused on objects: the ideal nouveau roman would be an individual version and vision of things, subordinating plot and character to the details of the world rather than enlisting the world in their service.
Despite the assertions of nouveauté, this vision of the novel can be construed as developing from earlier writers' suggestions and practice. Joris-Karl Huysmans
, ninety years before, had suggested how the novel might be depersonalised; more recently, Franz Kafka
had shown that conventional methods of depicting character were not essential; James Joyce
had done the same for plot; and absurdist
writers had engaged with some of the themes which preoccupied writers of the nouveau roman.
The nouveau roman style also left its mark on screen as writers Marguerite Duras
and Alain Robbe-Grillet
became involved with the Left Bank film movement (often labelled as part of the French new wave
). Their collaboration with director Alain Resnais
resulted in critical successes such as Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1958) and Last Year in Marienbad (1961). They would later go on to direct their own films.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
that diverged from classical literary genres. Émile Henriot
Émile Henriot (writer)
Émile Henriot was a French poet, novelist, essayist and literary critic.-Life:A son of the caricaturist Henri Maigrot, known under the pen name Henriot, he fought in the First World War. He first wrote as a journalist for Temps in the inter-war period...
coined the title in an article in the popular French newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
on May 22, 1957 to describe certain writers who experimented with style in each novel, creating an essentially new style each time.
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet , was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain Robbe-Grillet was elected a member of the Académie française on March 25, 2004, succeeding Maurice...
, an influential theorist as well as writer of the nouveau roman, published a series of essays on the nature and future of the novel which were later collected in Pour un nouveau roman
Pour un Nouveau Roman
Pour un Nouveau Roman is a 1963 collection of theoretical writings by French author Alain Robbe-Grillet....
. Rejecting many of the established features of the novel to date, Robbe-Grillet regarded many earlier novelists as old-fashioned in their focus on plot, action, narrative, ideas, and character. Instead, he put forward a theory of the novel as focused on objects: the ideal nouveau roman would be an individual version and vision of things, subordinating plot and character to the details of the world rather than enlisting the world in their service.
Despite the assertions of nouveauté, this vision of the novel can be construed as developing from earlier writers' suggestions and practice. Joris-Karl Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
, ninety years before, had suggested how the novel might be depersonalised; more recently, Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
had shown that conventional methods of depicting character were not essential; James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
had done the same for plot; and absurdist
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
writers had engaged with some of the themes which preoccupied writers of the nouveau roman.
The nouveau roman style also left its mark on screen as writers Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
and Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet , was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain Robbe-Grillet was elected a member of the Académie française on March 25, 2004, succeeding Maurice...
became involved with the Left Bank film movement (often labelled as part of the French new wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
). Their collaboration with director Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
resulted in critical successes such as Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1958) and Last Year in Marienbad (1961). They would later go on to direct their own films.
Authors in the style of the nouveau roman
- Gérard BessetteGérard BessetteGérard Bessette was a French Canadian writer and educator.Bessette grew up in Montreal and attended the Collège Saint-Ignace...
- Hélène Bessette
- Maurice BlanchotMaurice BlanchotMaurice Blanchot was a French writer, philosopher, and literary theorist. His work had a strong influence on post-structuralist philosophers such as Jacques Derrida.-Works:...
- Michel ButorMichel Butor-Life and work:Michel Marie François Butor was born in Mons-en-Barœul. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, graduating in 1947. He has taught in Egypt, Manchester, Salonika, the United States, and Geneva...
- Julio CortázarJulio CortázarJulio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
- Marguerite DurasMarguerite DurasMarguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
- Claude OllierClaude OllierClaude Ollier is a French writer closely associated with Alain Robbe-Grillet and the nouveau roman literary movement. He was the first winner of the Prix Médicis which he received for his novel La Mise en scène.-Works:...
- Robert PingetRobert PingetRobert Pinget was a major avant-garde French writer, born in Switzerland, who wrote several novels and other prose pieces that drew comparison to Beckett and other major Modernist writers...
- Jean RicardouJean RicardouJean Ricardou is a French writer and theorist of the nouveau roman literary movement. To date, only one of his books, Les lieux-dits has been translated into English.-Works:*L'observatoire de Cannes *La prise de Constantinople...
- Alain Robbe-GrilletAlain Robbe-GrilletAlain Robbe-Grillet , was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain Robbe-Grillet was elected a member of the Académie française on March 25, 2004, succeeding Maurice...
- Nathalie SarrauteNathalie SarrauteNathalie Sarraute was a French lawyer and writer of Russian Jewish origin.-Life:Sarraute was born Natalia/Natacha Tcherniak in Ivanovo , 300 km north-east of Moscow in 1900 , and, following...
- Claude SimonClaude SimonClaude Simon was a French novelist and the 1985 Nobel Laureate in Literature. He was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and died in Paris, France....
- Philippe SollersPhilippe SollersPhilippe Sollers is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the avant garde journal Tel Quel , published by Seuil, which ran until 1982...
See also
- French literatureFrench literatureFrench literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...
- Francophone literatureFrancophone literatureFrancophone literature is literature written in the French language. Most often the term is misused to refer only to literature from francophone countries outside France, but this category includes French Literature, or Literature of France, that is literature written by French authors...
- List of French language authors
- AntinovelAntinovelAn antinovel is any experimental work of fiction that avoids the familiar conventions of the novel. The term was coined by the French philosopher and critic Jean-Paul Sartre....