PORTRAIT OF A MAN UNKNOWN

London, England: John Calder Publishers, 1959. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. London, England: John Calder Publishers, 1959. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 222 pages. The author's debut New Novel. One of the greatest books of the 20th century. The first appearance of the title in the United Kingdom. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. There is no ISBN. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Nathalie Sarraute's "Portrait d'un Inconnu" in a felicitous English translation by Maria Jolas. She also translated the dazzling Preface Essay by Jean-Paul Sartre. Preceded by her ground-breaking vignette-portraits, "Tropismes" (1939), here is the very first New Novel, the only serious - and ambitious - attempt of the 20th century to advance and complete literary modernism. Another great thinker, Hannah Arendt, hailed it as a breakthrough in the way it subverts - and transcends - the novel form's seemingly inescapable "psychology", by depicting the unconscious as a "physiology" instead: An objective "portrait" (of an ultimately unknowable human subject) rather than a subjective, psychological depiction (of a knowable and empathetic literary character). "I believe that by allowing us to sense an intangible authenticity, she has achieved a technique which makes it possible to attain, over and beyond the psychological, human reality in its very existence" (Jean-Paul Sartre). Sartre deserves full credit for championing her work even though it actively rejects his own approach. It is surely because of the New Novel's anti-psychological ambition that it has remained an ambition, literary, NOT philosophical in either the Sartre-ian or Camus-ian mode, and an acquired taste, destined never to land on bestseller lists. And yet: Sarraute's radical emphasis on plotless narrative has actually had enormous literary influence, and has since become the norm of serious mainstream literature. The late great satirist/social realist novelist Martin Amis, of all people, declared that only thrillers (which he was also good at) require a plot; all other modern novels depend on and are about the inner life (of a particular character), which he described as the "voice novel", emanating organically - that is, "physiologically", per Arendt - from the innermost thoughts, feelings, and sensations of a human being. The "voice novel" is another, brilliant way to describe the New Novel, whose achievement as such demands every serious reader's worthwhile consideration. An absolute "must-have" title for Nathalie Sarraute collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black fountain pen on the title page by Nathalie Sarraute. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. Her signature is superb: Clean, flowing, and elegant. This title is a great book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (British) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: John Calder, the publisher itself, NOT any previous owner, clipped the original price printed on the DJ flap and replaced it with a sticker of the corrected price (5.95 British pounds). A rare signed copy thus. "Tropismes" and "Portrait of A Man Unknown" are regarded by a panel of European publishers, scholars, and literary critics as two of the greatest books of the 20th century. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER NATHALIE SARRAUTE TITLES IN OUR CATALOG).