This book was one of three novels to be read and discussed on a course called The European city in contemporary literature.
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Written in the form of a diary, Things Seen record the observations of the narrator as she travels around Paris on the RER rail network. I say “the narrator” because I’m not entirely sure whether the “I” in Things Seen refer to Ernaux herself, or a persona she’s adopted for the purpose. Certainly many of the observations seem a little too polished to have been mere jottings in a personal journal. Have they been spruced up afterwards? Or were they self-consciously written — somewhat over-written in places — with an eye to future publication?
I’m not sure it matters, except to purists who believe that every thought and conversation presented as being non-fiction has to contain no fictional elements at all, even if they help the narrative to flow better. Also, of course, the reader can not be absolutely certain that Ernaux herself shares the opinions voiced by the “I” in these entries.
I like the structure of the book. There is something to be said for short pieces that stand alone as impressions but yet together form a tapestry of a whole picture. Once certainly gets a sense of the aspects of Paris which, as in any tourist-attracting city, are not to be discovered in the guidebooks.
The writer’s voice is evident in sentences such as:
“In my head a sentence forms...with which surely I will do nothing. Simple habit of putting the world into words.”
This is an incisive and accurate depiction of what writers do. We note down impressions, snippets of conversation, and from them craft sentences that we may be able to use one of these days, but almost certainly never will. (Not because we’re too lazy, but because, if we’re lucky, ideas come faster than we can keep up.)
There is much social commentary here, and a disdainful attitude towards politicians:
“Politicians, and subsequently journalists, use terms like “colloquium”, “summit”, puffing up these empty words to give them importance. ”
(This reminded me of something I wrote in January 2020, in an article about the Department for Education’s communication skills (or lack of them). I asked:
“What’s the point of writing policy documents which are obscure, jargon-filled verbiage?”
At times beautiful, at times cynical, at times hard-hitting, Things Seen is an endearing and accurate portrayal of a modern city. The word “endearing” may seem out of place, given the extracts I’ve included in this review. But I think you have to love a place in order to write beautifully about it, faults included.
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