La Maison de Rendez-Vous and Djinn: Two Novels (Robbe-Grillet, Alain) [Paperback]

Alain Robbe-Grillet (Author), Richard Howard (Translator), Yvone Lenard (Translator), Walter Wells (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Robbe-Grillet, Alain | Publication Date: April 1, 1994

These two novellas demonstrate why Alain Robbe-Grillet, the leading practitioner and theorist of the noveau roman, is one of the most discussed and controversial writers of the post-war era. In La Maison de Rendez-vous, the master of the "new novel" creates a world of crime, intrigue, and passion dominated by Lady Ava's mysterious Blue Villa. Set in Hong Kong, the novella unfolds over the course of one evening, but the events of that night recur repeatedly, from the perspectives of different characters. Robbe-Grillet creates an unsettling work that challenges ideas about subjectivity and objectivity, fiction and fact, and the entire process of storytelling. A haunting, disorienting, and brilliantly constructed novel, Djinn is the story of a young man who joins a clandestine organization under the command of an alluring, androgynous American girl named Djinn. His search for the meaning of his mission and for possible clues to the identity of the mysterious Djinn, becomes a quest for his own identity in an ever-shifting time-space continuum.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

From the Inside Flap

With Hong Kong as the setting, the master of the "new novel" creates a world of crime, intrigue, and passion dominated by Lady Ava's mysterious Blue Villa. The novella unfolds over the course of only one evening, but the events of that night recur repeatedly, and the same moments are described from the perspectives of different characters. Robbe-Grillet creates an unsettling work that challenges his readers' ideas about subjectivity and objectivity, fiction and fact, and the entire process of story-telling. Djinn

A haunting, disorienting, brilliantly constructed novel, Djinn is the story of a young man who joins a clandestine organization under the command of an alluring, androgynous American girl, Djinn. Having agreed to wear dark glasses and carry a cane like a blind man, he comes to realize, through bizarre encounters, recurring visual images, and fractured time sequences he experiences as part of his undisclosed mission, that he is, in a sense, helplessly blind. His search for the meaning of his mission and for possible clues to the identity of the mysterious Djinn, becomes a quest for his own identity in an ever-shifting time-space continuum. His growing obsession with solving the mystery becomes the reader's own until, through a surprising shift in narrative perspective, the reader too becomes lost in the dimension between past and future.

"Alain Robbe-Grillet is the forerunner of a revolution in the novel."--Claude Mauriac

"[La Maison de Rendez-vous is] a new literary entertainment, and a poetic, amusing, captivating book."--The New York Times Book Review

"[La Maison de Rendez-vous] is a funny book, a provocation, a do-it-yourself mystery or a fairy tale."--Eliot Fremont-Smith, The New York Times

"Djinn may win a whole generation over to the noveau roman."--International Herald Tribune

"Robbe-Grillet is at the top of his form with this fantastic tale."--Le Monde

Alain Robbe-Grillet, born in 1922, is one of the most discussed and controversial writers of the post-war era. The leading practitioner and theorist of the noveau roman, he is best known for his novels Jealousy and The Voyeur, as well as his screenplay for the classic film Last Year at Marienbad. Among his other works are The Erasers, In the Labyrinth, Project for a Revolution in New York, and Topology of a Phantom City

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802130178
• ISBN-13: 978-0802130174
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Non linearity adds perplexity to these mystery thrillers., April 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: La Maison de Rendez-Vous and Djinn: Two Novels (Robbe-Grillet, Alain) (Paperback)

The settings of both stories are oriental. In `Djinn' the protagonist works undercover for an androgenous American spy. There are some curious adventures met in the hands of two children. After a while the book begins to fold back on itself and we find ourselves right where we started but we go off in a slightly different direction. It is as if the protagonist is trapped in some never ending mystery that doesn't explain itself. `La Maison De Rendez-Vous' is about an evening get together, again we find some mysterious elements and the story folds back on itself various times, everytime we get a further glimpse into the affairs. It is the most curios style of narration that ends up adding a nightmarish aspect to the mystery. I wouldn't suggest this book to a die hard mystery reader but this will make an interesting reading otherwise