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

[Lison]

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 !

[PeterL]

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.

[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.

[PeterL]

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.

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.