| The Erasers by Alain Robbe-Grillet |
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"The true writer has nothing to say," Alain
Robbe-Grillet once announced, in his
characteristically enigmatic fashion. Yet this
controversial author never took advantage
of—in the parlance of the arresting officer—
the right to remain silent. Still it took him many
years before he found his vocation as a
leader of an avant-garde literary movement.
Robbe-Grillet first
studied agricultural
engineering, worked
as a machinist in a
compulsory labor
program at a Nurem-
berg tank factory
during World War
II, and later made a
living as an agronomist. He didn't publish
novels until his thirties, when The Erasers
(1951), followed up by The Voyeur (1953) and
Jealousy (1957), announced the arrival of a
provocative writer who irritated many readers
with his disregard of the conventions of
narrative fiction, but delighted influential
critics such as Barthes and Blanchot for this
very same reason. The essays collected in
Robbe-Grillet's For a New Novel (1963)
solidified this author’s reputation for lingering
at the cutting edge, while his screenplay for
the deliberately cryptic film Last Year at
Marienbad (1961) proved that he could be
even more iconoclastic in a cinematic setting
and—perhaps equally surprising!—earn an
Oscar nomination in the process. He later
went on to direct his own films, none of them
showing up at your local downtown megaplex
or on TV during sweeps week. In truth,
Robbe-Grillet paid a price for his ostentatious
disregard of the rules other artists followed.
His name eventually became emblematic of a
certain prissy pretentiousness. When he is
mentioned in the movie Sideways—the hapless
Paul Giamatti character, describing his failed
novel ("It evolves - or devolves - into a kind
of a Robbe-Grillet mystery - but no real
resolution"), the effect is to accentuate the
character’s pretentiousness and irresolution.
And that film did make it to your hometown
mall movie screens and on to the shelves at
Blockbuster. Yet for others, Robbe-Grillet is
remembered fondly as an author from an age
in which certain grand expectations for
change and novelty still adhered to literary
fiction. This author may ultimately be
remembered less for his body of work, and
more for that glorification of rule-breaking,
oddly enough both austere and expansive in
his case, towards which he always aspired.
Robbe-Grillet once announced, in his
characteristically enigmatic fashion. Yet this
controversial author never took advantage
of—in the parlance of the arresting officer—
the right to remain silent. Still it took him many
years before he found his vocation as a
leader of an avant-garde literary movement.
Robbe-Grillet first
studied agricultural
engineering, worked
as a machinist in a
compulsory labor
program at a Nurem-
berg tank factory
during World War
II, and later made a
living as an agronomist. He didn't publish
novels until his thirties, when The Erasers
(1951), followed up by The Voyeur (1953) and
Jealousy (1957), announced the arrival of a
provocative writer who irritated many readers
with his disregard of the conventions of
narrative fiction, but delighted influential
critics such as Barthes and Blanchot for this
very same reason. The essays collected in
Robbe-Grillet's For a New Novel (1963)
solidified this author’s reputation for lingering
at the cutting edge, while his screenplay for
the deliberately cryptic film Last Year at
Marienbad (1961) proved that he could be
even more iconoclastic in a cinematic setting
and—perhaps equally surprising!—earn an
Oscar nomination in the process. He later
went on to direct his own films, none of them
showing up at your local downtown megaplex
or on TV during sweeps week. In truth,
Robbe-Grillet paid a price for his ostentatious
disregard of the rules other artists followed.
His name eventually became emblematic of a
certain prissy pretentiousness. When he is
mentioned in the movie Sideways—the hapless
Paul Giamatti character, describing his failed
novel ("It evolves - or devolves - into a kind
of a Robbe-Grillet mystery - but no real
resolution"), the effect is to accentuate the
character’s pretentiousness and irresolution.
And that film did make it to your hometown
mall movie screens and on to the shelves at
Blockbuster. Yet for others, Robbe-Grillet is
remembered fondly as an author from an age
in which certain grand expectations for
change and novelty still adhered to literary
fiction. This author may ultimately be
remembered less for his body of work, and
more for that glorification of rule-breaking,
oddly enough both austere and expansive in
his case, towards which he always aspired.
| ROGUES GALLERY: ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET |
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
For nine days in a row, someone has been murdered
at exactly the same time, between seven and eight in
the evening, but each killing has occurred in a
different part of the country.
The victims are all individuals
of status and socioeconomic
importance, loosely connected
with government affairs, but
whose influence is mostly felt
behind the scenes. A terrorist
group may be responsible for
the killings, but the newspapers
are reluctant to call attention
to the unfolding pattern. The
repetition of circumstances
may, after all, simply be a matter
of coincidence.
Then again, almost everything in The Erasers, Alain
Robbe-Grillet’s debut novel, is repeated, with a similar
ambiguity permeating the unfolding patterns. These
recurrences can range from modest incidents—the
purchase of an eraser at a stationery store (something
which seems to take place every fifty pages, more or
less, in this novel)—to matters of life and death. In the
convoluted world of Robbe-Grillet, the same crime
might even take place twice, in the identical location and
with even the same victim. To reinforce this sense of
doubleness, the author will sometimes repeat specific
passages of dialogue or description.
At one key juncture in the book, Robbe-Grillet
interrupts the narrative to insert a lengthy, maddening
description of how objects in a room are reflected in a
mirror. The reader might be forgiven for seeing the
entire novel as a similar exercise in reflections, both
accurate and misleading. An official is sent from the
central government to take charge of the local
investigation, but as he begins gathering evidence, he
learns, to his dismay, that he bears an uncanny
resemblance to one of the suspects wanted for
questioning. The similarity in appearance is so uncanny,
that casual acquaintances can’t tell one from another.
Mon semblable, mon frère, mon detective! And—who knows?—
in the convoluted world of Robbe-Grillet, the detective
and criminal might very well turn out to be the same
person.
Lulled by the sense of repetition, even those
investigating the crime can be caught unawares when a
break in the pattern occurs. The ninth victim survives
the shooting and escapes with just a minor flesh wound.
But fearful that the terrorist group will come back to
finish the job, he goes into hiding, meanwhile enlisting
the help of a doctor and friend in making it appear as if
he has actually been murdered. The police themselves
are fooled by the ruse, as is the official sent from the
central ministry to investigate the crime.
In The Erasers, as elsewhere in his ouevre, Robbe-Grillet
likes to play games with the conventions of the classic
detective story. In this instance, he not only enjoys
following the investigation of a murder that never took
place, but also constructs a plot in which all of the sharp
binary oppositions of the crime story—stark contrasts, so
familiar to use, between criminal and victim, detective
and suspect, even cause and effect—are blurred and
frequently reversed. Meanwhile, many of the most basic
elements of a typical mystery are left out entirely. Even
at the close of the book, matters of motive—for both
perpetrators and enforcers—and other key elements of
the plot remain murky and subject to dispute.
Yet if the readers find themselves uncertain and
confused—this is, after all, a Robbe-Grillet novel, so
you need to accept puzzlement and occasional
annoyance as part of the admission price—the leading
characters in The Erasers are quite confident about their
own ability to interpret events. The police inspector
Laurent is sure that the alleged murder is actually a
suicide and thus no criminal will ever be arrested. One
of the younger policemen on the case is certain that the
killing was a family matter, in which the victim’s son is
the guilty party. The celebrated intelligence officer
Fabius sees conspiracy everywhere, and knows that this
murder is just one more interconnecting thread in a
complex web of treachery. Even the sole surviving
murder target falls into the trap of misinterpreting
motives and events.
In a book with so many dead ends, Robbe-Grillet
somehow manages to force the various plots and sub-
plots to converge in a surprising, unsettling ending. The
book that starts by subverting so many basic elements of
the murder mystery finally validates them, with a real
culprit, an actual victim, and a smoking hot weapon—a
coherence that you may not have anticipated if you come
to this book familiar with Robbe-Grillet’s other works.
But don’t assume that this final chapter puts an end to
the series of repetitions and duplications that constitute
the heart of The Erasers. At the very end of the novel
Robbe-Grillet comes full circle with a conclusion that
takes the reader back to the very opening scene. And
perhaps this next time, the story will end differently.
Ted Gioia's latest book is The Birth (and Death) of
the Cool.
For nine days in a row, someone has been murdered
at exactly the same time, between seven and eight in
the evening, but each killing has occurred in a
different part of the country.
The victims are all individuals
of status and socioeconomic
importance, loosely connected
with government affairs, but
whose influence is mostly felt
behind the scenes. A terrorist
group may be responsible for
the killings, but the newspapers
are reluctant to call attention
to the unfolding pattern. The
repetition of circumstances
may, after all, simply be a matter
of coincidence.
Then again, almost everything in The Erasers, Alain
Robbe-Grillet’s debut novel, is repeated, with a similar
ambiguity permeating the unfolding patterns. These
recurrences can range from modest incidents—the
purchase of an eraser at a stationery store (something
which seems to take place every fifty pages, more or
less, in this novel)—to matters of life and death. In the
convoluted world of Robbe-Grillet, the same crime
might even take place twice, in the identical location and
with even the same victim. To reinforce this sense of
doubleness, the author will sometimes repeat specific
passages of dialogue or description.
At one key juncture in the book, Robbe-Grillet
interrupts the narrative to insert a lengthy, maddening
description of how objects in a room are reflected in a
mirror. The reader might be forgiven for seeing the
entire novel as a similar exercise in reflections, both
accurate and misleading. An official is sent from the
central government to take charge of the local
investigation, but as he begins gathering evidence, he
learns, to his dismay, that he bears an uncanny
resemblance to one of the suspects wanted for
questioning. The similarity in appearance is so uncanny,
that casual acquaintances can’t tell one from another.
Mon semblable, mon frère, mon detective! And—who knows?—
in the convoluted world of Robbe-Grillet, the detective
and criminal might very well turn out to be the same
person.
Lulled by the sense of repetition, even those
investigating the crime can be caught unawares when a
break in the pattern occurs. The ninth victim survives
the shooting and escapes with just a minor flesh wound.
But fearful that the terrorist group will come back to
finish the job, he goes into hiding, meanwhile enlisting
the help of a doctor and friend in making it appear as if
he has actually been murdered. The police themselves
are fooled by the ruse, as is the official sent from the
central ministry to investigate the crime.
In The Erasers, as elsewhere in his ouevre, Robbe-Grillet
likes to play games with the conventions of the classic
detective story. In this instance, he not only enjoys
following the investigation of a murder that never took
place, but also constructs a plot in which all of the sharp
binary oppositions of the crime story—stark contrasts, so
familiar to use, between criminal and victim, detective
and suspect, even cause and effect—are blurred and
frequently reversed. Meanwhile, many of the most basic
elements of a typical mystery are left out entirely. Even
at the close of the book, matters of motive—for both
perpetrators and enforcers—and other key elements of
the plot remain murky and subject to dispute.
Yet if the readers find themselves uncertain and
confused—this is, after all, a Robbe-Grillet novel, so
you need to accept puzzlement and occasional
annoyance as part of the admission price—the leading
characters in The Erasers are quite confident about their
own ability to interpret events. The police inspector
Laurent is sure that the alleged murder is actually a
suicide and thus no criminal will ever be arrested. One
of the younger policemen on the case is certain that the
killing was a family matter, in which the victim’s son is
the guilty party. The celebrated intelligence officer
Fabius sees conspiracy everywhere, and knows that this
murder is just one more interconnecting thread in a
complex web of treachery. Even the sole surviving
murder target falls into the trap of misinterpreting
motives and events.
In a book with so many dead ends, Robbe-Grillet
somehow manages to force the various plots and sub-
plots to converge in a surprising, unsettling ending. The
book that starts by subverting so many basic elements of
the murder mystery finally validates them, with a real
culprit, an actual victim, and a smoking hot weapon—a
coherence that you may not have anticipated if you come
to this book familiar with Robbe-Grillet’s other works.
But don’t assume that this final chapter puts an end to
the series of repetitions and duplications that constitute
the heart of The Erasers. At the very end of the novel
Robbe-Grillet comes full circle with a conclusion that
takes the reader back to the very opening scene. And
perhaps this next time, the story will end differently.
Ted Gioia's latest book is The Birth (and Death) of
the Cool.
| New Angles on an Old Genre |
| Postmodern Mystery |
| Postmodern Mystery is a web site devoted to experimental, unconventional and postmodern approaches to stories of mystery and suspense |
| Click on image to purchase |
Further Clues:
Interview with Alain Robbe-Grillet by Shusha Guppy
from The Paris Review
Alain Robbe-Grillet's Facebook Page
Alain Robbe-Grillet's Lecture on YouTube
Robbe-Grillet's Last Year at Marienbad
How to Win the Robbe-Grillet Matchstick Game Every
Time
Recommended Sites:
Conceptual Fiction
Great Books Guide
The New Canon
Ted Gioia's homepage
Ted Gioia (on Twitter)
American Fiction Notes
The Art of Reading
The Big Read
Blographia Literaria
Books, Inq.
Bookslut
Booksquare
A Commonplace Blog
Conversational Reading
Crimespree Magazine
Critical Mass
Dana Gioia
The Elegant Variation
Fictionaut
In Search of the Classic Mystery
Joseph Peschel
Light Reading
The Literary Saloon
Los Angeles Review of Books
Maud Newton
The Millions
The Misread City
Mystery Fanfare
The Neglected Books Page
Nota Bene Books
Open Letters Monthly
Readerville
The Reading Experience
Reviews and Responses
Tipping My Fedora
Waggish
Conceptual Fiction
Great Books Guide
The New Canon
Ted Gioia's homepage
Ted Gioia (on Twitter)
American Fiction Notes
The Art of Reading
The Big Read
Blographia Literaria
Books, Inq.
Bookslut
Booksquare
A Commonplace Blog
Conversational Reading
Crimespree Magazine
Critical Mass
Dana Gioia
The Elegant Variation
Fictionaut
In Search of the Classic Mystery
Joseph Peschel
Light Reading
The Literary Saloon
Los Angeles Review of Books
Maud Newton
The Millions
The Misread City
Mystery Fanfare
The Neglected Books Page
Nota Bene Books
Open Letters Monthly
Readerville
The Reading Experience
Reviews and Responses
Tipping My Fedora
Waggish