Clearly, the two paramount problems recurring throughout Nathalie Sarraute's writings are those of communication and of truth. And it is no accident and no surprise to find that her only two plays [both originally written for radio] bear the titles: Le Silence and Le Mensonge. (p. 102)

In their content and approach the two plays are a logical extension of Nathalie Sarraute's novels, even if the dramatic form constitutes a departure from her other writing. In both plays a number of men and women, who seem to know each other well, are gathered for an evening, for no apparent specific reason. These men and women are not identifiable characters. In Le Silence, with one exception, they are not given any names. In Le Mensonge they have names, but names that confer no identity upon them. Both plays are set in motion in both cases by an utterance that has...