Things: A Story of the Sixties, is the debut novel of the French author Georges Perec. The novel was first published in 1965 in France, under the title "Les Choses", which, in French, means "Things". Quickly after publication, the novel gained popularity, and won the Prix Renaudot prize for literature.
What makes Things different from other novels is how objects and materials play a more important role in the story that characters that are actually sentient. To give a feeling of the passing of time, Perec uses a literary technique that describes things in conditional, present, and future tenses. In simpler terms, as the novel progresses, things are described as being in the past at first, then the present, and, finally, the future.
Born in 1936, Georges Perec was a French novelist and filmmaker. After losing both of his parents to the conflicts of the Second World War, Perec decided that the best way to express himself was through literature, which is why many of his works focus on loss and suffering. Perec is known for his rather experimental literary techniques, which became popular in future works. Perec passed away in 1982 as a result of lung cancer from his lifelong habit of smoking.
