Booklover

Column Editor: Donna Jacobs (Retired, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425) <donna.jacobs55@gmail.com>

As one who is always up for an experiment, Claude Simon’s work, The World About Us, provides this booklover an opportunity in literary form. Scientific experimentation defined my professional career. But a literary experiment? How fun might this be? Reading a novel where an author deconstructs, reconstructs and writes without punctuation or formatting is so intriguing. As with any experiment, a protocol is helpful and one was provided for this literary experiment in the form of Ralph Sarknoak’s book Understanding Claude Simon.

Claude Simon “who in his novel combines the poet’s and the painter’s creativeness with a deepened awareness of time in the depiction of the human condition” was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Literature. In Sarknoak’s book, he provides a road map in the form of chapters for ten pieces of Simon’s work. His recommendation is to read these in chronological order to appreciate Simon’s metamorphosis as a writer. This Booklover’s Bucket List is to read one piece of work by each Nobel Literature Laureate, so one must choose. Like all experiments, there is modification when “reagents” (read Simon’s work in translation) are few or non existent (none in the library, few to be found online). Go with what you can get: Leçon de choses or The World About Us, the novel discussed in Chapter 9 of Sarknoak’s book. Start reading or maybe acquiring a bit of background first wouldn’t hurt.

Simon was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar in October of 1913; lost his father during World War I; grew up with his mother and maternal family in Perpignan located in the Roussillon wine district; educated at the institutions of Collège Stanislas, Oxford, Cambridge and Andrè Lhote Academy; traveled extensively; served in the military; and taken prisoner during the battle of Meuse in World War II. All of these experiences thematically influenced his body of work. A few can even be appreciated in The World About Us. It always enhances the read to know a bit about the author but to have an “Understanding” provided to the reader by a scholar takes the experience to another level. Instead of being put off by this literary experiment, one is shown an opportunity to embrace a discovery.

Back to the experiment. When executing any experiment, it is imperative to remember that the devil lives in the details otherwise the results may be inconclusive. So immediately there is a hiccup…. Simon is French and this short little novel is a translation. (Props to the translationer — Daniel Weissbort) Fortunately Sarknoak provides insight — not in a story spoiler way but in a word/language way. In the larger context of the author, we learn that Simon was not well known. In fact, his income came from the wine grown on the estate he inherited; thus no pressure to publish or be popular. Could explain the choice of the unconventional. William Faulkner, another Nobel Literature Laureate, was an influencer of Simon’s literary direction. Simon’s artistic training probably enhanced his style that has been described as poetic prose. Sarknoak goes so far as to state: “Simon is a writer who loves to describe objects and people, and in fact it would be quite accurate to say that he paints with his pen.” (Note to self — Hold on to this while reading The World About Us.) In addition, one is encouraged to “unlearn” reading habits, beware of unconventional punctuation (one whole chapter contains no punctuation), pay attention to metaphors (a bit hard with the language barrier), and that the sound of words can give clues (learned this one from the first Nobel Literature Laureate — Sully Prudhomme, also French and a poet, one has to be a dedicated reader of “Booklover” to recall that experiment). With all of this in mind, you might be expecting the sharing of a few lines that is regularly scheduled programming in this column. However, no teasers from the author this time. Why would I spoil the adventure of a literary experiment you might want to do?