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The setting of Nathalie Sarraute's Do You Hear Them? is a dinner conversation between a father and his old friend about a recently acquired pre-Columbian statue. As they discuss the merits of the piece and art in general, the father hears his children upstairs, giggling. This mirth is barbaric and devastating to the father, for in their laughter he hears them mocking his "old fashioned" viewpoint and the energy he wastes on collecting lifeless objects. In his mind, they have no respect for what has been of greatest importance to him in his life.
First published January 1, 1972
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About the author
Nathalie Sarraute
77 books232 followersNathalie Sarraute (July 18, 1900 in Ivanovo, Russia – October 19, 1999 in Paris, France) was a lawyer and a French writer of Russian-Jewish origin.
Sarraute was born Natalia/Natacha Tcherniak in Ivanovo (then known as Ivanovo-Voznesensk), 300 km north-east of Moscow in 1900 (although she frequently referred to the year of her birth as 1902, a date still cited in select reference works), and, following the divorce of her parents, spent her childhood shuttled between France and Russia. In 1909 she moved to Paris with her father. Sarraute studied law and literature at the prestigious Sorbonne, having a particular fondness for 20th century literature and the works of Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf, who greatly affected her conception of the novel, then later studied history at Oxford and sociology in Berlin, before passing the French bar exam (1926-1941) and becoming a lawyer.
In 1925, she married Raymond Sarraute, a fellow lawyer, with whom she would have three daughters. In 1932 she wrote her first book, Tropismes, a series of brief sketches and memories that set the tone for her entire oeuvre. The novel was first published in 1939, although the impact of World War II stunted its popularity. In 1941, Sarraute, who was Jewish, was released from her work as a lawyer as a result of Nazi law. During this time, she went into hiding and made arrangements to divorce her husband in an effort to protect him (although they would eventually stay together).
Nathalie Sarraute dies when she was ninety-nine years old. Her daughter, the journalist Claude Sarraute, was married to French Academician Jean-François Revel.
From Wikipedia
Sarraute was born Natalia/Natacha Tcherniak in Ivanovo (then known as Ivanovo-Voznesensk), 300 km north-east of Moscow in 1900 (although she frequently referred to the year of her birth as 1902, a date still cited in select reference works), and, following the divorce of her parents, spent her childhood shuttled between France and Russia. In 1909 she moved to Paris with her father. Sarraute studied law and literature at the prestigious Sorbonne, having a particular fondness for 20th century literature and the works of Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf, who greatly affected her conception of the novel, then later studied history at Oxford and sociology in Berlin, before passing the French bar exam (1926-1941) and becoming a lawyer.
In 1925, she married Raymond Sarraute, a fellow lawyer, with whom she would have three daughters. In 1932 she wrote her first book, Tropismes, a series of brief sketches and memories that set the tone for her entire oeuvre. The novel was first published in 1939, although the impact of World War II stunted its popularity. In 1941, Sarraute, who was Jewish, was released from her work as a lawyer as a result of Nazi law. During this time, she went into hiding and made arrangements to divorce her husband in an effort to protect him (although they would eventually stay together).
Nathalie Sarraute dies when she was ninety-nine years old. Her daughter, the journalist Claude Sarraute, was married to French Academician Jean-François Revel.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 19, 2020
Another lovely little gem from Nathalie Sarraute. I snagged a hardcover first edition of this one at the thrift store for only $3! Was thrilled as it's one of the few novels of hers that I own back in Florence but haven't yet gotten around to reading, so win/win, I got a nice book to add to my library and also something to read these months abroad and away from my library.
Written in Sarraute's usual no exposition, impressionistic style of thoughts and dialogue attributed to nameless hes, shes, and mostly theys, Do You Hear Them? (from 1972) deals with the generation gap, pitting the seriousness of an art collector father and an unspecified number of giggling daughters, the "plot" centering around a family-owned work of Mesoamerican sculpture and the daughters' laughter--which prompts the father to exclaim the novel's title to a visiting friend. In classic Sarraute fashion, this laughter and the father's attitudes toward his daughters are spun again and again as per their intentions, exploring the dynamics between them, the love, suspicion, duty, resentment, differences, education, culture, as pivots between one generation and the other, one gender and the other, etc. etc. It drags just a bit about 2/3 of the way through, but the ending was wonderful and, by then, I'd really came to admire the concise whole of it. For me this is one of Sarraute's best novels.
Written in Sarraute's usual no exposition, impressionistic style of thoughts and dialogue attributed to nameless hes, shes, and mostly theys, Do You Hear Them? (from 1972) deals with the generation gap, pitting the seriousness of an art collector father and an unspecified number of giggling daughters, the "plot" centering around a family-owned work of Mesoamerican sculpture and the daughters' laughter--which prompts the father to exclaim the novel's title to a visiting friend. In classic Sarraute fashion, this laughter and the father's attitudes toward his daughters are spun again and again as per their intentions, exploring the dynamics between them, the love, suspicion, duty, resentment, differences, education, culture, as pivots between one generation and the other, one gender and the other, etc. etc. It drags just a bit about 2/3 of the way through, but the ending was wonderful and, by then, I'd really came to admire the concise whole of it. For me this is one of Sarraute's best novels.
March 22, 2022
Con decir Nouveau roman muchos lectores huyen despavoridos y otros nos quedamos a ver qué pasa. A intentar entender qué es lo que pasa.
En mi caso, que soy un lector sin conciencia sobre los estilos o tendencias que lee, siento atracción por estos autores complicados; te sacan a bailar toda la noche y apenas podés seguir sus pasos. Te embriagan en esas páginas donde parece no pasar nada para que pase todo. Te obligan a derrochar imaginación, a tirar de brújula.
En estas 125 páginas Sarraute nos plantea una situación que parece muy concreta: dos amigos frente a frente mirando una estatua y un grupo de jóvenes riendo en la habitación de arriba. A partir de esa, toda la acción de la novela, uno se sorprenderá metido en el bucle que lo llevará a pensar en educación, en la madurez, en el valor del arte, en el paso del tiempo… En ser hijo, en ser padre, en todo lo que pensamos sin decir…etc.etc.
Más al fondo, sin duda, viejos intelectuales franceses y Mayo del 68.
En mi caso, que soy un lector sin conciencia sobre los estilos o tendencias que lee, siento atracción por estos autores complicados; te sacan a bailar toda la noche y apenas podés seguir sus pasos. Te embriagan en esas páginas donde parece no pasar nada para que pase todo. Te obligan a derrochar imaginación, a tirar de brújula.
En estas 125 páginas Sarraute nos plantea una situación que parece muy concreta: dos amigos frente a frente mirando una estatua y un grupo de jóvenes riendo en la habitación de arriba. A partir de esa, toda la acción de la novela, uno se sorprenderá metido en el bucle que lo llevará a pensar en educación, en la madurez, en el valor del arte, en el paso del tiempo… En ser hijo, en ser padre, en todo lo que pensamos sin decir…etc.etc.
Más al fondo, sin duda, viejos intelectuales franceses y Mayo del 68.
January 24, 2012
The kind of literature that needs to digest in your mind between readings. Fragmented sentences slowly give way to a dramatically charged whole. Having not read any of Sarrautes work before I went in expecting something completely different from what I got but somehow I came out on the other side amazed at Sarrautes feat and hungry for more.
April 26, 2025
This is the most avant garde novel I have read. I’m not gonna lie I wanted to throw my laptop across the room like 30 pages in because I was frustrated that I wasn’t following along at first, and certain things were going over my head. As the book progresses, though, I got a better sense of what the author was doing. The book has a stream of consciousness style, very untraditional sentence structure, and the plot and characters are not the focal point. Characters are not named and it is easy to lose track of who is speaking/ if people are speaking or thinking/ where they are and is what I am reading really happening or is it just some abstract idea? The book revolves around a sculpture which is interpreted differently across a generational divide. It raises really interesting questions about art. It’s really helpful to contextualize this text with Derrida’s theory of différance. Art as a sign is constantly shifting, yet retains the trace of past traditions/legacies. I’d love to revisit this book in the future.
October 6, 2019
I imagine it as an impressionistic painting of words. I did not understand and grasp at the outlines of the narrative nor characters before I saw the full composition (or at least half of it).
On page 20 I wanted to smash the book and rip it apart, because I did not understand and I thought that it’s pointless, weak. After I finished the book, my feelings had transformed into the opposite. For me, relevant themes took shape and were much clearer to me by the end.
On page 20 I wanted to smash the book and rip it apart, because I did not understand and I thought that it’s pointless, weak. After I finished the book, my feelings had transformed into the opposite. For me, relevant themes took shape and were much clearer to me by the end.
February 11, 2019
I read this, and there was an extent to which I appreciated it, and especially the obvious influence on Christine Brooke-Rose, but ultimately it felt a little hollow to me. It might benefit from rereading, or it might just be a bit arid as radical stylistic experiments sometimes are.
July 1, 2020
Fog-like narrative. Unique style. I have experience quite weird sensation with this book. But I cannot read twice.
May 19, 2016
Okay so picture reading Virginia Woolf-- all that out of control watery writing that seems to slip out from between your fingertips before you can look at it properly. Only, take away all of the gorgeous colours and intriguing shapes that you manage to glimpse from the corner of your eye before Woolf's writing evaporates. Or Clarice Lispector minus her intensity. James Joyce without the magnitude. Now for the plot, insert something roughly equivalent to Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things." You're left with.... this.
I get that books don't always give you things like meaning, beauty, whatever, easily. But there should be something that you can find, or make, or take away, or appreciate, or be pained by. It should not just feel like trudging through ellipses and sentence fragments, which is how I felt reading this. It's not that it's bad-- it flows better than you would expect it to. But- maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the translation- it just feels like empty effort.
Somewhat salvaged by the very end-- having been numb to the first 120 pages, my heart thawed a little bit for the last 20. I'd give it a 2.5 because well, it comes together somewhat decently. But overall-- I got more out of the Bowie song.
I get that books don't always give you things like meaning, beauty, whatever, easily. But there should be something that you can find, or make, or take away, or appreciate, or be pained by. It should not just feel like trudging through ellipses and sentence fragments, which is how I felt reading this. It's not that it's bad-- it flows better than you would expect it to. But- maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the translation- it just feels like empty effort.
Somewhat salvaged by the very end-- having been numb to the first 120 pages, my heart thawed a little bit for the last 20. I'd give it a 2.5 because well, it comes together somewhat decently. But overall-- I got more out of the Bowie song.
April 11, 2013
Blogged about our creative engagement here: http://www.5cense.com/13/devotion.htm
(lets see how long Amazon allows us to put outside links in these reviews...)
(lets see how long Amazon allows us to put outside links in these reviews...)
September 1, 2016
Бред сивой кобылы!
January 13, 2017
meer gemompel en gedachtenkronkels dan gebeurtenissen. plot komt niet ter sprake. moeilijk om te concentreren bij het tramlezen. net de juiste lengte en maakt me benieuwd naar meer boeken van haar
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews