A Void

Book cover of Perec's A Void

Amy fished out Georges Perec’s A Void from the bookshelves the other day. It’s the novel that famously, and with great resonance, avoids the use of the letter ‘e’ on any of its 283 pages. (Alongside the brilliant playfulness of this work, I still find it hard to comprehend how such a work could have been translated from the original French {by Gilbert Adair}). Amy’s brother Gabes, also aware of the book’s unique feature, peered over her shoulder as she flicked through the pages. After a few moments he exclaimed with marked vehemence that he’d spotted an ‘e’. Amy didn’t stop her flicking immediately so the place was lost. Gabes spent quite some time futilely looking for the word he’d seen. He still refuses to concede that there was no such letter in this particular book. (There’s more than a whiff of Borges, to my mind, in this incident.)

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You’re currently reading “A Void,” an entry on A Personal Miscellany

Published:: 02.01.07 / 9am

Category:: literature

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I’ve been writing this blog for quite a lot longer than three years and now I’m finally getting round to writing something in the About page. But what to write? Oh well, if you check the category listings you’ll see what I cover. It’s a ragtag assortment of bits and bobs, anything that catches my fancy really. Unsurprisingly, much of that is music. I much appreciate comments, but whether you feel like making them or not, I hope you find something of interest.

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Houndworld 09.01.07 / 10pm

I remember being particularly amused by the re-renderings of various famous poetic works.

I take it you’re also aware of Perec’s ‘The Exeter Text’, a short story that, rather than avoiding ‘e’, has it as the sole allowed vowel? A complement to A Void, though it uses increasingly elaborate deviations from standard language as it continues, whereas A Void is sticks to grammatical and spelling rules assiduously. Translated by Ian Monk, or ‘E N Menk’. It begins:

‘Deep dentelle screened, the seven green Mercedes Benzes resembled pestered sheep. They descended West End Street, swerved left, entered Temple Street then swept between the green vennels’ beeches, elms ‘n’ elders.”

I’d love to be able to read these in Perec’s original French too.

11V 10.01.07 / 11pm

I was aware of The Exeter Text – what volume is it published in? I love the playfulness of the text, must reread A Void. I recall that found it tough going, but rereading the first page the other day was a lot of fun. Reading in the original – that would be my dream for reading both Borges (murdered in the latest collected translation as I’ve said many a time) and Paul Celan I mentioned in a post the other day).

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A Void

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