''Intersection'' is a 1967 novel by the French writer

Paul Guimard Paul Guimard (3 March 1921 – 2 May 2004) was a French writer known for combining his passion for writing with his love of the sea. His most famous work was '' Les Choses de la Vie'', which was adapted for film, with a complete change of its ...

. Its French title is ''Les Choses de la vie'', which means "the things of life". It tells the story of a lawyer who has a serious car accident and lies in bed at a hospital, where he is unable to communicate but hears the people around him, as he remembers his life up until the accident. The book was published in English in 1994, translated by

Shaun Whiteside Shaun Whiteside (born 1959) is a Northern Irish translator of French, Dutch, German, and Italian literature. He has translated many novels, including '' Manituana'' and ''Altai'' by Wu Ming, ''The Weekend'' by Bernhard Schlink, '' Serotonin'' by M ...

. It received the Prix des libraires in 1968.

Adaptations

The novel was the basis for

Claude Sautet Claude Sautet (23 February 1924 – 22 July 2000) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was a chronicler of post-war French society. He made a total of five films with his favorite actress Romy Schneider. Biography Born in Montrou ...

's 1970 film ''

The Things of Life ''The Things of Life'' (french: Les Choses de la vie) is a 1970 romantic drama film directed by Claude Sautet, based on the 1967 novel '' Intersection'' by Paul Guimard. The film centers around a car accident experienced by Pierre (Michel Piccoli ...

'', starring

Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...

and

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

. Sautet's film was remade in the United States as '' Intersection'', released in 1994.

References

{{Reflist 1967 French novels French novels adapted into films French-language novels