Fionnáin reviewed A void by Georges Perec
A Crucial Thing Has Vanished
5 stars
This world was lucky to host this rascal of an author for a short span of history. Ditto this canny translator.
A thing is missing from this story. What was it again? A symbol? A scrawl? A Zahir? A MacGuffin? Our first protagonist, Anton Vowl, is soon missing too, and not only him but all folks in this plot run a risk of vanishing without warning.
From word to word this book's witty rhythm plays with us. Its dancing vocabulary is astounding (my assumption is this is both in original Francais and this Anglo-translation, or should I say transcription?). With such a constraint as a missing symbol so common you would think A Void would not flow with pizzazz. But its story is solid, occasionally poignant, and also ridiculously good fun. Our author's lists and linguistic quirks can warrant skipping past parts. But still this book is brilliant both in …
This world was lucky to host this rascal of an author for a short span of history. Ditto this canny translator.
A thing is missing from this story. What was it again? A symbol? A scrawl? A Zahir? A MacGuffin? Our first protagonist, Anton Vowl, is soon missing too, and not only him but all folks in this plot run a risk of vanishing without warning.
From word to word this book's witty rhythm plays with us. Its dancing vocabulary is astounding (my assumption is this is both in original Francais and this Anglo-translation, or should I say transcription?). With such a constraint as a missing symbol so common you would think A Void would not flow with pizzazz. But its story is solid, occasionally poignant, and also ridiculously good fun. Our author's lists and linguistic quirks can warrant skipping past parts. But still this book is brilliant both in imagination and plot.