TheNouveau Roman (French pronunciation:[nuvoʁɔmɑ̃], "new novel") is a type of Frenchnovel in the 1950s and 60s that diverged from traditional literary genres.[1]Émile Henriot coined the term in an article in the popular FrenchnewspaperLe Monde on May 22, 1957 to describe certain writers whoexperimented with style in each novel, creating an essentially new style each time.[2]
The style had different approaches but generally rejected the traditional use of chronology, plot and character in fiction, as well as theomniscient narrator. The Nouveau Roman authors were open to influences from writers such asDostoevsky,Joyce,Faulkner andKafka, as well as the cinema.[3][5]
The earliest theoretical writings about the Nouveau Roman were the four essays by Nathalie Sarraute compiled in 1956,L'Ère du soupçon (The Age of Suspicion).[6] Alain Robbe-Grillet and Michel Butor also published essays on the nature and future of the novel which were collected inPour un Nouveau Roman (1963) andEssais sur le roman (1969), respectively.
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 idealnouveau 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.[7]
The Nouveau Roman literary movement and the novels themselves were further theorized byJean Ricardou, who in addition to his theoretical works (e.g.,Problèmes du Nouveau Roman) also publishednouveaux romans himself, such asL'Observatoire de Cannes [fr] (1961),La Prise de Constantinople [fr] (1965), andLes Lieux-dits (1969). He also organized, directed and published the proceedings of several conferences on thenouveau roman, including the 1971 conference and debate at Cerisy, published in two volumes:Nouveau roman : hier, aujourd’hui, which added to an understanding of the history of that period.[8] Just before his death in 2016, he was working on a book of interviews with Amir Biglari, in which he provided an account of the Nouveau Roman movement.[9]
Influenced by these films, French courses in North America during the 1960s and 1970s often included works by Nouveau Roman authors such as Alain Robbe-Grillet'sLa Jalousie (1957), Michel Butor'sLa Modification (1957), Nathalie Sarraute'sLe Planetarium (1957) and Marguerite Duras'Moderato Cantabile (1958).[citation needed]
The critic Benjamin Libman has argued that the Nouveau Roman exerted a profound influence uponSusan Sontag and the development ofpostmodern fiction in the United States.[21]
^Yanoshevsky, Galia (2006),"Études particulières",Les discours du Nouveau Roman : Essais, entretiens, débats, Perspectives (in French), Villeneuve d’Ascq: Presses universitaires du Septentrion, pp. 41–72,ISBN978-2-7574-2261-8, retrieved2025-08-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
^Robbe-Grillet, Alain (1965). "A Future for the Novel".For a New Novel: Essays on Fiction. New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc. pp. 21–24.
Luscans, Bernard (2008).La représentation des objets dans le nouveau nouveau roman, Chapel Hill, Université de Caroline du Nord.[1]
Pivato, Joseph. 'Nouveau Roman Canadien',Canadian Literature 58 (Autumn 1973) 51–60. [canlit.ca/article/nouveau-roman-canadien/]
Pivato, Joseph. 'Nancy Huston Meets le Nouveau Roman, Athabasca University Canadian Writers Site. [canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/nhuston/nouveau_roman.php.php]
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