What do you think about the French "New Novel" ?

Hi everyone !

I'm a French PhD student and I'm making researches on the reception of the French New Novel (Alain Robbe-Grillet, Marguerite Duras, Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor, Robert Pinget, Claude Simon) in the United States. I've been studying articles by american critiques and scholars but now I would like to hear about the opinion on these books by the general public. That's why I'm adressing to you, American readers and I would be very grateful if you took some time to answer these questions :

- Have you ever read some books of these 5 writers ?

If no :

- Have you at least hear about them ?
- What do you presume about them ?

If yes :

- When did you read them ? How did you discover them ?
- Did you study them in your education ? In high school ? In college ?
- What were your impressions while reading them ? Did you enjoy them ?
- Do you think they're difficult books ?
- Do you think some of these books (particularly those of Robbe-Grillet) were influencial on American literature ?

Thank you very much ! :)

I have reaqd something by Robbe-Grillet, but I didn't think much of it. One thing about translations is that the translator may not have been up to the task.

Thank you for your answer Peterl. Do you remember which book you read ?
I think the translation is not to blame if it didn't let you a big impression, because Robbe-Grillet's prose is known to be easy to translate, plus most of his novels were translated by Richard Howard who is universally recognized as a brilliant translator.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lison

Thank you for your answer Peterl. Do you remember which book you read ?
I think the translation is not to blame if it didn't let you a big impression, because Robbe-Grillet's prose is known to be easy to translate, plus most of his novels were translated by Richard Howard who is universally recognized as a brilliant translator.

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Sorry, but I don't remember what it was. I just glanced at a list of his works and nothing looked familiar, but the list was in French, and I don't know whether the translation had a directly translated title.