The Planetarium (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Nathalie Sarraute
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological realism
- Time of Work: The late 1950’s
- Setting: Unspecified, but probably Paris
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, Authors or writers, Paris, Apartment houses
- Locales: Paris, France
Characters Discussed
Alain Guimiez (ah-LAY[N] gee- MYEHZ), an aspiring young writer, snobbish, insecure, and overly anxious to impress. At twenty-seven years of age, he has not completed his doctoral dissertation or established himself professionally, but he covets the trappings of success. Living in a tiny efficiency apartment, he envies his aunt’s five-room apartment in a fashionable neighborhood. When, in a thoughtless moment, his aunt suggests an exchange, Alain first hesitates but soon greedily pictures himself entertaining friends in spacious surroundings. When his...
[The entire page is 732 words long]
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