The Erasers

The Erasers (Les Gommes), published in 1953, is the debut novel by Alain Robbe-Grillet, a key figure in the French literary movement known as the nouveau roman (new novel). This movement, which emerged in the 1950s, is characterized by its rejection of traditional narrative structures, such as plot, character development, and psychological commentary.12

Robbe-Grillet, trained as a statistician, focused on the objective existence of objects and actions, presenting a world that simply is, rather than one imbued with inherent meaning or absurdity. The Erasers itself deals with a murder investigation, where the investigator becomes the perpetrator. The novel, like others in the nouveau roman style, employs recurring images and detailed descriptions, often resembling elements of a detective story but without traditional resolution.12