a mounted regiment during World War II (the ridiculousness of mounted soldiers fighting in a mechanised war is a major theme of La Route des Flandres and Les Géorgiques). Simon's principal obsession, however, is with the ways in which humans experience time (another Modernist fascination). The novels often dwell on images of old-age, such as the decaying 'LSM' or the old woman (that 'flaccid and ectoplasmic Cassandra') in Les Géorgiques, which are frequently seen through the uncomprehending eyes of childhood. Simon's use of family history equally attempts to show how individuals exist in history—that is, how they might feel implicated in the lives and stories of their ancestors who died long ago. Seminars Jean Ricardou (Director) : Nouveau roman : hier, aujourd'hui, Cerisy (France), 1971. Claude Simon : analyse, théorie, Cerisy (France), 1974. Pour une théorie matérialiste du texte, Cerisy (France), 1980. Criticism Essayist Christopher Hitchens criticised Simon's deconstruction of George Orwell's account of the Spanish Civil War, claiming that Simon had himself fought "on the side of the Stalintern forces." In a further reference to the literary honours bestowed on Simon, Hitchens added: "the award of the Nobel Prize to such a shady literary enterprise is a minor scandal, reflecting the intellectual rot which had been spread by pseudo intellectuals." Works Le Tricheur (The Cheat) 1946 La Corde Raide (The Tightrope) 1947 Gulliver 1952 Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) 1954 Le vent: Tentative de restitution d 'un rétable baroque (The Wind: Attempted Restoration of a Baroque Altarpiece) 1957 L'Herbe (The Grass) 1958 La Route des Flandres (The Flanders Road) 1960 Le Palace (The Palace) 1962 La Separation (The Separation) 1963; play, adapted from the novel L'Herbe Femmes, sur 23 peintures de Joan Miró (Women, on 23 paintings by Joan Miró) 1966; new edition, La Chevelure de Bérénice (Berenice's Hair) 1984 Histoire (Story) 1967 La Bataille de Pharsale (The Battle of Pharsalus) 1969 Orion aveugle: Essai (Blind Orion: Essay) 1970 Les Corps conducteurs (Conducting Bodies) 1971 Triptyque (Triptych) 1973 Leçon de choses (Lesson in Things) 1975 Les Géorgiques (The Georgics) 1981 L'Invitation (The Invitation) 1987 L'Acacia (The Acacia) 1989 Le jardin des plantes (The Garden of Plants) 1997 Le tramway (The Trolley) 2001 Collected edition Œuvres (Bibliothèque de la Pléiade): Tome I (Gallimard, 2006), including Le Vent: Tentative de restitution d'un retable baroque, La Route des Flandres, Le Palace, La Bataille de Pharsale, La Chevelure de Bérénice