Things: A Story of the Sixties
Encyclopedia
Things is a novel by Georges Perec
. It received the Prix Renaudot
in 1965.
It recounts the life of a young couple — both pollsters — in the 1960s. At the end of the book, they depart to live in Sfax
, Tunisia
, as did in fact Georges Perec and his wife in the year 1960-1961.
The characters in the novel do not hold as much textual importance as the things (les choses) meticulously described throughout. Perec's use of the conditional tense plunges the reader into the dreams of the characters in the novel (consider, for example, the first line: "L'œil, d'abord, glisserait sur la moquette grise d'un long corridor, haut et étroit" [The eye, at first, would glide over the grey carpet of a long hallway, tall and narrow]). The characters themselves are only introduced in the third chapter; the principal place being reserved for les choses, which are omnipresent in this novel.
This novel also explores "happiness" in a consumer society.
Georges Perec
Georges Perec was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist and essayist. He is a member of the Oulipo group...
. It received the Prix Renaudot
Prix Renaudot
The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot is a French literary award which was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of the deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt....
in 1965.
It recounts the life of a young couple — both pollsters — in the 1960s. At the end of the book, they depart to live in Sfax
Sfax
Sfax is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849 on the ruins of Taparura and Thaenae, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate , and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has population of 340,000...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, as did in fact Georges Perec and his wife in the year 1960-1961.
The characters in the novel do not hold as much textual importance as the things (les choses) meticulously described throughout. Perec's use of the conditional tense plunges the reader into the dreams of the characters in the novel (consider, for example, the first line: "L'œil, d'abord, glisserait sur la moquette grise d'un long corridor, haut et étroit" [The eye, at first, would glide over the grey carpet of a long hallway, tall and narrow]). The characters themselves are only introduced in the third chapter; the principal place being reserved for les choses, which are omnipresent in this novel.
This novel also explores "happiness" in a consumer society.