Preview of The Planetarium Summary:

T he Planetarium, Sarraute's longest novel and her most popular one in English, is often thought to be her masterpiece. The reader approaching this writer for the first time is frequently advised to read this work because it is the "easiest." This judgment is probably based on its surface resemblances to the conventional novel. There is more plot than in Sarraute's other books, with events arranged and developed in a linear rather than a circular pattern, and there are more characters identifiable by name, personality and relationships. The apparent conventionality is deceptive, however, and the unsuspecting reader who thinks the novel is realistic will find himself misled. As always, plot and character are not as significant as are what Sarraute calls "tropisms." Scientists use the term tropism to refer to the responsive growth or movement of an organism toward or away from an external...