Tropisms
First edition cover | |
| Author | Nathalie Sarraute |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Isabelle Huppert (2009) |
| Original title | Tropismes |
| Translator | Maria Jolas |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Nouveau roman |
| Publisher | Éditions Denoël |
Publication date | 1939 |
| Publication place | France |
| 843.912 | |
| LC Class | PZ3 .S247 T |
Tropisms (French: Tropismes [tʁɔ.pism]) is an experimental novel by Nathalie Sarraute, first published in 1939. It is considered a forerunner of the Nouveau Roman. Jean Genet, Marguerite Duras and Jean-Paul Sartre all described it as a masterpiece.
The title refers to tropisms, stimuli to plant growth; in the human sense, Sarraute imagined tropisms as "interior movements that precede and prepare our words and actions, at the limits of our consciousness."
It was ranked #73 in Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.