The Palace

by Claude Simon, Richard Howard (Translator)

Fiction. THE PALACE, Claude Simon's seventh novel, has its roots in events in Simon's life, in this case the Spanish Civil War, in which he was a participant and a supporter of the republican governernment. Simon sees most things in life as circular, events that recur, and revolutions are no exception. The Spanish war was a political catastrophe and it is the images of destruction, waste and inefficiency that give this novel its power. Simon describes the bureaucratic accumulation of paper which always manages to soak up all violence and every act of revolt and creates poignant pictures of dead dchildren, disillusioned soldiers and students, the betrayal of Catalonia by the Communists, about which George Orwell has also written (in a work that influenced Simon) and the power struggle that splintered the republican side. This powerful narrative is one of the most important examples of the nouveau roman and revolution, a time of confusion and differing views of reality, is a most suitable backg

Genres: Fiction, France

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Awarded 1985 Nobel Prize in Literature, for being an author "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."

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

like a significant chunk of The Georgics this book is about the spanish civil war, but whereas the georgics was a wide ranging epic of sorts this one zooms in to a couple of moments within a several day period at a single hotel in spain that has been requisitioned by the republican forces. here the trademark extremely long sentences are mainly being deployed in order to minutely examine the texture of the surrounds and a few key moments of the few characters(most memorably the italian student recounting the assassination he carried out), since there's not really any plot to speak of. a bit near the very end, where the hotel manager is described out of nowhere as having simian features and as being a homunculus is a real highlight but there's plenty here to interest any aficionados of long sentence european authors.

[Jonathan Norton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Referring to the English translation published by John Calder.

A narrator who, like Simon, volunteered for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, revisits Barcelona in the early 50s, and quickly slides into vivid memories of the hectic days of 1936, when the Left were being ousted by control of the city by the orthodox Stalinists (the crisis that Orwell described in "Homage To Catalonia"). Some tantalising characters are depicted, and a very brief segment of time is dissected into endless strips of psychological strata, through Simon's trademark infinite sentences that go on for up to 30 pages, with huge numbers of parentheses and nested parentheses (I think either Claude or his translator lost track of them on pg.121 and left one unclosed). Maybe if I read the whole book in one sitting it would work better, but I found it quite a drag in instalments, much like "The Flanders Road". I liked "Triptych", but there is more going on stylistically in that one.

[Omar Muñoz Cremers]

Een kringloopvondst die al een tijd lag te wachten, want ik vermoedde dat deze nouveau roman geen Harry Quebert zou zijn. Het begin dat bestaat uit een enorm lange zin viel ik meteen van in slaap en kon de dag erna niet herinneren wat ik had gelezen. Na 10 pagina's begon het te dagen dat alle zinnen een bizarre lengte hadden (tot soms drie pagina's lang). Ik dacht aan opgeven, maar dat doe ik vrijwel nooit. En dus stug doorgelezen waarbij het begon te dagen dat ik elk idee van plot moest loslaten. Dat hielp. En zo vond ik een heel eigen leesplezier over een hotel in de Spaanse Burgeroorlog en iets met een moord op een hoge pief. Toen viel alles voor mij in elkaar: dit is de ultieme stonerliteratuur met zijn lange zinnen die blijven door associëren en het tot in het absurde verliezen in het beschrijven van details. Wat is er gebeurd? Dat ben ik ook vrijwel vergeten, maar het is was heel eigen, zonder dat ik nog een keer zoiets hoef te lezen.

[Ripleyland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every day I was excited to read this book. For some reason I can’t describe in words, I was constantly thinking about this book. I had a similar experience with The Flanders Road, but this book really made me revere Claude Simon. The Spanish Civil War itself is a very interesting setting, and the time frame that Simon utilizes and his signature running a moment through the stream of consciousness seven times and getting seven different directions really works for it. Next I’ll be reading The Georgics, of which I hope matches this perfection.

[Kico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una lectura con un estilo muy difícil. Lo mejor: ser un testimonio, personal pero objetivo, de una revolución tan burdamente idealizada.

[Susu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revisiting Barcelona, sliding back into the memories of the Spanish Civil War - somewhat convoluted and turning in on itself - a tapestry of words