Exercises in Style
by Raymond Queneau
2020-12-30 03:21:52
A new edition of a French modernist classic - a Parisian scene told ninety-nine different ways - with new material written in homage by the likes of Jonathan Lethem, Rivka Galchen, and many more. On a crowded bus at midday, Raymond Queneau observes o...
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A new edition of a French modernist classic - a Parisian scene told ninety-nine different ways - with new material written in homage by the likes of Jonathan Lethem, Rivka Galchen, and many more. On a crowded bus at midday, Raymond Queneau observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. When a seat is vacated, the first man appropriates it. Later, in another part of town, Queneau sees the man being advised by a friend to sew a new button on his overcoat. Exercises in Style â Queneauâs experimental masterpiece and a hallmark book of the Oulipo literary group â retells this unexceptional tale ninety-nine times, employing the sonnet and the alexandrine, onomatopoeia and Cockney. An âAbusiveâ chapter heartily deplores the events; âOpera Englishâ lends them grandeur. Queneau once said that of all his books, this was the one he most wished to see translated. He offered Barbara Wright his âheartiest congratulations,â adding: âI have always thought that nothing is untranslatable.Here is new proof.â To celebrate the 65th anniversary of the 1947 French publication of Exercises de Style, New Directions has asked several writers to contribute new exercises as a tribute. Tantalizing examples include Jonathan Lethemâs âCyberpunk,â Harry Mathewâs âPhonetic Eros,â and Frederic Tutenâs âBeatnikâ exercises. This edition also retains Barbara Wrightâs original introduction and reminiscence of working on this book â a translation that in 2008 was ranked first on the Authorâs Societyâs list of âThe 50 Outstanding Translations of the Last 50 Years.â
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