The Planetarium

A young writer has his heart and ambition set on his aunt's large apartment. With this seemingly simple conceit, the characters of The Planetarium are set in orbit and a galaxy of argument, resentment, and bitterness erupts. Telling the story from various points of view, Sarraute focuses below the surface, on the emotional lives of the characters in a way that surpasses what Virginia Woolf did years before. The spite the young man feels toward his mother-in-law for offering him and his wife cheap chairs for their apartment; the terror inspired during a confrontation with his aunt; and the need to impress his Gertrude Stein-like literary icon are only some of the many internal conflicts that push the narrative forward, as the characters circle each other. Always deeply engaging, The Planetarium reveals the deep disparity between the way we see ourselves and the way others see us.