Simple Simon

A literary prank confirms that an author’s reputation precedes him or her

Bas naam pe chala raha hain apni dukaan… is a phrase no Indian needs an introduction to. Well, it seems, that applies to a Nobel Prize for Literature winner too or so it would appear from the results of a prank played by a literary fan of French author Claude Simon, a 50-page extract of whose 1962 novel ‘The Palace’ set during the Spanish Civil War was sent by the former to 19 prominent publishers pitching it as original work. All of them rejected it, 12 outright and another seven who did not even bother to get back.

Now, rejection slips from publishers are all part of the day’s work for most aspiring writers but to receive a rejection worded thus — “the book’s endlessly long sentences completely lose the reader… it does not have a real plot with well-drawn characters” — is pretty tough, wouldn’t you say? Especially if you have won the Nobel Prize for Literature and not too long ago at that (Simon was awarded in 1985). A news report on the literary prank pointed out that Simon is identified with the Nouveau Roman movement in literature which explicitly experimented with literary styles and he was particularly noted for his wandering prose, to put it politely. In his most acclaimed work ‘The Georgics’ (1981), for example, the same sentence continued over several pages. Literary snobs including the prankster have cited the rejection of Simon’s work by current day publishers as an example of the “degrading standards in publishing”, an industry which has allegedly “abandoned literary works that are not easy to read or will not set sales records”.

While there may or may not be some truth in this allegation, there is no getting away from the fact that turgid prose and stream of consciousness writing is not what publishers usually like to inflict upon unsuspecting readers. And that there are some Nobel Prize winners whose formidable reputations preceded them and so, the joke goes, the jury found it so difficult to read their work they effected a neat cop out by just giving them the prize! We name no names, naturally. Happy reading.