Georges Perec and the Oulipo: Winter Journeys (Atlas Anti-classics)

This amazing and strange -- dare I say it? Jointly written novel is delightful and much better, and more likeable, than it had any right to be. Consecutive riffs on Perec's hack at writing a Borges story. Completely amazing. I couldn't put it down. Also the book design and manufacturing are perfectly wonderful.

I have known the Perec story since the Sturrock translation first came out as a single story. The stories that follow are worthy successors, elaborating on the original and its implications in ways that are full of wonder and make for the most enjoyable read in many years.

In 1979 Georges Perec published a brilliant short story "Le Voyage d'hiver", about what oulipians call anticipatory plagiarism. In 1992 Jacques Roubaud published a sequel "Le Voyage d'hier", followed in 1999 by Hervé Le Tellier's "Le Voyage d'Hitler". 18 more stories would follow, including "Le Voyage d'Hoover", "Le Voyage du ver", "Le Voyage des verres", "Le Voyage d'Enfer" etc., creating a fascinating hyper-novel, to which most of the living Oulipo members have contributed.About half of this material is not yet available in French, but thanks to Ian Monk, who has translated the majority of these stories, we can all read them in English now. Anybody acquainted with Oulipo will relish this hyper-novel, and for those who wish to get to know Oulipo, "Winter Journeys", probably the most all-embracing expression of Oulipo's creative potential, is an ideal introduction.