What is Claude Simon's central theory on novels?
My central contention is that reality is not a story. It is a chaotic cascade of sensations, perceptions, and memories, constantly shifting. The traditional novel, with its linear plot and causal connections, is a false imposition, an artificial order forced upon this torrent. I believe the novel should mirror this inherent fragmentation. My process involves accumulating images, sounds, textures—the tactile reality of a place, the heat of the sun, the smell of dust. These elements, like shards of glass, reflect different facets of what we call experience, but they do not necessarily connect in a logical sequence. The reader must assemble them, as I do, through accumulation, not through following a pre-ordained path.
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