Robbe-Grillet, Alain (Vol. 10) - Introduction

Robbe-Grillet, Alain 1922–

Robbe-Grillet is a French novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and critic. In 1964 he published Pour un nouveau roman, a work which established the precepts of the New Novel movement. Rejecting traditional literary devices and theories as dishonest and misleading in their representation of the natural world, Robbe-Grillet proclaimed in his brilliant manifesto: "The world is neither significant nor absurd. It just is." He strives for complete objectivity in his writing and leaves the meaning intentionally ambiguous, for Robbe-Grillet wishes each reader to bring his own perceptive powers and life experiences to bear on his interpretation. Robbe-Grillet's theories and subsequent fictional works continue to be a center of controversy in literary circles. (See also CLC, Vols. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and Contemporary Authors, Vols. 9-12, rev. ed.)