The Inquisitory

By Robert Pinget

Book Overview

The Inquisitory consists entirely of the interrogation of an old, deaf servant regarding unspecified crimes that may or may not have taken place at his master's French chateau. The servant's replies - which are by turns comic, straightforward, angry, nostalgic, and disingenuous - hint at a variety of seedy events, including murder, orgies, tax fraud, and drug deals. Of course, the servant wasn't involved with any of these activities - if the reader chooses to believe him. In trying to convince the inquisitor of his innocence, the servant creates a web of half-truths, vague references, and glaring inconsistencies amid "forgotten" details, indicating that he may know more than he's letting on.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1564783278
• ISBN13: 9781564783271
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
• Length: 399 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.6" x 8.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Robert Pinget: The Inquisitory

Pinget has been associated with the French "Nouveau Roman"... New Novel practitioners (Alain Robbe-Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute, and Nobel Prize winner Claude Simon)who shunned the highly formulaic, by-the-numbers style of conventional novels. Indeed, "The Inquisitory" bears no resemblance to the assembly line fodder for lowbrows that typically clog, clutter, and decorate bookstore bookshelves. This is a novel that stands out, apart, and above. And because it is so highly original, so very intelligent, I am quite certain that the prime consideration for ever publishing this book could only have been a Literary, rather than a Commercial consideration. And BRAVO! I say. BRAVO! I love this book!

A multi-layered web of hidden truths unfolds

The Inquisitory is a singularly unique literary masterpiece by Robert Pinget. Written entirely in the format of the extended question-and-answer interrogation of an old, deaf servant (who is an unreliable narrator being grilled about unspecified crimes that may or may not have taken place at his master's French chateau), who hints at shady events ranging from tax fraud to murder, drug deals, and orgies. The elderly servant maintains distance, feigns ignorance, yet paints a stealthily accusatory picture -- if his testimony can be believed. A multi-layered web of hidden truths unfolds in this engrossing original work, which is superbly translated from the original French by Donald Watson.