false 15957 15 0 Although Queneau's novels give an impression of enormous spontaneity, they were in fact painstakingly conceived in every small detail. He even once remarked that he simply could not leave to hazard the task of determining the number of chapters of a book. Talking about his first novel, Le Chiendent (usually translated as The Bark Tree), he pointed out that it had 91 sections, because 91 was the sum of the first 13 numbers, and also the product of two numbers he was particularly fond of: 7 and 13.]]> male Le Havre 1903/02/21 1976/10/25 319790 0811207897 9780811207898 42 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255897019m/319790.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255897019s/319790.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/319790.Exercises_in_Style 4.12 387 Exercises in Style, this determinedly pointless scenario unfolds 99 times in twice as many pages. Originally published in 1947 (in French), these terse variations on a theme are a wry lesson in creativity. The story is told as an official letter, as a blurb for a novel, as a sonnet, and in "Opera English." It's told onomatopoetically, philosophically, telegraphically, and mathematically. The result, as translator Barbara Wright writes in her introduction, is "a profound exploration into the possibilities of language." I'd say it's a refresher course of sorts, but it's more like a graduate seminar. After all, how many of us are familiar with terms such as litote, alexandrine, apheresis, and epenthesis in the first place?]]> 15957 3.98 1661 198 225207 4.06 425 51 1947 28369 0142180041 9780142180044 41 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946363m/28369.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946363s/28369.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28369.Zazie_in_the_Metro 3.96 270 Zazie in the Metro remains as stylish and witty as ever. ]]> 15957 3.98 1661 198 1959 28370 0811209458 9780811209458 8 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946363m/28370.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946363s/28370.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28370.The_Blue_Flowers 3.90 71 15957 3.98 1661 198 1971 424760 1564783979 9781564783974 4 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174623676m/424760.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174623676s/424760.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424760.Pierrot_Mon_Ami 3.97 66 15957 3.98 1661 198 1972 291047 159017030X 9781590170304 11 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173457441m/291047.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173457441s/291047.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/291047.We_Always_Treat_Women_Too_Well 3.77 66 15957 3.98 1661 198 1981 28371 1590170318 9781590170311 12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946364m/28371.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946364s/28371.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28371.Witch_Grass 3.98 53 15957 3.98 1661 198 2003 28375 0811204839 9780811204835 1 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946365m/28375.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946365s/28375.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28375.The_Flight_of_Icarus 4.14 43 15957 3.98 1661 198 1968 374247 1564782093 9781564782090 2 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174264782m/374247.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174264782s/374247.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/374247.Odile 3.88 42
Raymond Queneau (1903-1976) has been one of the most powerful forces in shaping the direction of French fiction in the past fifty years. His other novels includes THE LAST DAYS, PIERROT MON AMI, AND SAINT GLINGLIN.]]> 15957 3.98 1661 198 1992 28372 1564781402 9781564781406 2 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946364m/28372.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946364s/28372.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28372.The_Last_Days_A_Novel 3.88 41 15957 3.98 1661 198 1990 374235 0714536415 9780714536415 2 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/374235.The_Sunday_of_Life 4.12 24 15957 3.98 1661 198 1973