French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Bonhomme, Claude Simon. Une écriture en cinéma
Novel and Narrative Prose

Béatrice Bonhomme, Claude Simon - Une écriture en cinéma

Publisher: Peter Lang

Series: Modern French Identities

ISBN: 978-3-03-911983-7

EAN: 9783039119837

Publisher's Overview

While Simonian criticism has frequently explored the relationship between Claude Simon's work and the visual arts, such as painting and photography, its connection to cinema has rarely been the subject of in-depth study. This study therefore uncovers the complex ties linking Claude Simon to the cinematic image, focusing on the ever-renewed dialogue between writing and filmmaking. In doing so, it demonstrates how the transition from one medium to another significantly shapes Simon's creative process.

Simon began drafting a shooting script for an adaptation of The Flanders Road as early as 1961, though the project was never realized. Consequently, this study highlights the history of a missed encounter whose creative dynamic nevertheless enriches his entire literary oeuvre.

Contents: How cinema — its dynamics, rhythms, and techniques — influenced Simonian writing - The tension of the image within words - The image as a subversive catalyst - The scopic drive and the cinematic apparatus - The study of optical illusions in Simon's writing - Cinema as a model for Simon's relationship to the perceptual-cognitive system - Stages of filmmaking and the use of technical vocabulary - Characteristics of the image: framing, lighting, soundtrack - A world of shadow and light - The paradox of a discontinuous flow that appears continuous - Should we speak of "montage" in Simonian writing? - Blending images and the representation of time.

About the Author: Bérénice Bonhomme defended her doctoral dissertation on Claude Simon's connection to cinema at the University of Nice, under the supervision of Alain Tassel and Dominique Viart. She currently teaches film studies at Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris III). She has published two books on Claude Simon and directed several short films.

Table of Contents

Claude Simon, a leading figure of the French Nouveau Roman, is known for his dense, sensory prose that challenges traditional narrative structures. While literary scholars have frequently explored his engagement with painting and photography, his relationship with cinema has rarely been the subject of in-depth study. During the post-war era, the boundaries between literature and cinema became increasingly porous, as writers experimented with visual perception and temporal discontinuity. This study examines the ties linking Simon to the cinematic image, focusing on the dialogue between writing and filmmaking.

The volume addresses these connections through Simon's unproduced 1961 screenplay for The Flanders Road, and analyzes how filmic techniques like montage, framing, and lighting operate within his texts. By investigating the tension between the written word and the cinematic apparatus, the work describes how optical illusions and temporal blending shape the representation of perception. Readers interested in the relationship between modern French literature and cinema may find this study relevant.