Exercises in Style

Queneau, Raymond

ISBN 10: 0811207897 / ISBN 13: 9780811207898

Published by New Directions, 1981

Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority! Seller Inventory # S_445007391

Synopsis:

“A work of genius in a brilliant translation by Barbara Wright….Endlessly fascinating and very funny.” ―Philip Pullman

The plot of Exercises in Style is simple: a man gets into an argument with another passenger on a bus. However, this anecdote is told 99 more times, each in a radically different style, as a sonnet, an opera, in slang, and with many more permutations. This virtuoso set of variations is a linguistic rust-remover, and a guide to literary forms.

About the Authors: Raymond Queneau (1903-1976) is acknowledged as one of the most influential of modern French writers, having helped determine the shape of twentieth-century French literature, especially in his role with the Oulipo, a group of authors that includes Italo Calvino, Georges Perec, and Harry Mathews, among others.

Barbara Wright has translated several Raymond Queneau novels; indeed, as John Updike wrote in The New Yorker, she "has waltzed around the floor with the Master so many times by now that she follows his quirky French as if the steps were in English." She has also translated works by Alain Robbe-Grillet, Robert Pinget, Nathalie Sarraute, and Marguerite Duras. She lives in London.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Exercises in Style
Publisher: New Directions
Publication Date: 1981
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Edition: 2nd Edition