In the Labyrinth

Description

The Battle of Reichenfels has been fought and lost. The army is in flight. The enemy is expected to arrive in town at any moment. A soldier, carrying a parcel under his arm, is wandering through an unknown town. All the streets look the same, and he cannot remember the name of one where he was supposed to meet the man who had agreed to take the parcel. But he must deliver the parcel or at least get rid of it... A brilliant work from one of the finest exponents of the Nouveau Roman, In the Labyrinth showcases an inventive, hypnotic style which creates an uncanny atmosphere of deja-vu, yet undermines the reader's expectations at every turn.

Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922-2008) is best known as the pioneering spokesman of the Nouveau Roman, a greatly influential movement in post-war French fiction, and as the author of Jealousy and The Voyeur.

It is an enormous relief to be shown the world in fresh colours. * The Spectator * Powerful evocation and atmospherics ... Christine Brooke-Rose's translation is faultless. * The Observer * Robbe-Grillet's career was built on a sly and amusing paradox: of using fiction over and over again to undo the conventions of fiction. But how cleverly and engagingly he did it. * The Independent *