Claude Simon

Alastair Duncan (University of Stirling)
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The French novelist Claude Simon was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1985. His novels span the second half of the twentieth century from 

Le Tricheur 

[

The Cheat

] published in 1945 to 

Le Tramway 

[translated as 

The Trolley

] in 2001. Taken together, Simon’s novels can be seen as a vast autobiographical fiction, returning again and again to the same motifs and themes from his own and his family’s life: war, memory, and loss. They are shot through with his keen attachment to the life of the senses, especially sight; enlivened by irony and humour; remarkable for their constantly changing forms.

Simon’s early life was marked by the great events of twentieth-century European history. He was born on 10 October 1913 in Tananarive, Madagascar, where his father was stationed as an officer in a

3175 words

Citation: Duncan, Alastair. "Claude Simon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 May 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12879, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12879 Claude Simon 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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