A Sentimental Novel review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Alain Robbe-Grillet's A Sentimental Novel, forthcoming from Dalkey Archive Press.
       This 2007 novel was Robbe-Grillet's last, and caused quite a stir; as translator D.E.Brooke also notes in a Preface:

French publisher Fayard confirms that, indeed, all their publishing contacts in the U.S. turned the book down in 2007 due to its subject matter, which was considered beyond the pale.

       (It should be noted: they weren't the only ones: while the book was reviewed upon (French) publication in some of the major German papers, the Germans, too, appear to have declined to publish a translation; the only other foreign edition I could find (not that I looked particularly hard) was a Romanian one. Of course, it's worth noting that this wasn't published by Robbe-Grillet's usual publisher in France either, Les Éditions de Minuit; still, kind of a shame that after all those books Grove didn't rise to the challenge in the US.)
       I'm curious what happens with this book -- figuring that either everyone will just ignore it (and with not even a Publishers Weekly review (yet ?) that seems a distinct possibility), or people will take a closer look and a nice little shitstorm will ensue. (In any case, it's safe to assume it won't figure on your kid's high-school reading list anytime soon; it also won't be longlisted for next year's Best Translated Book Award (between the squeamish and the offended, it would never get by enough of the judges).)