Species of Spaces and Other Pieces
by Georges Perec
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 220)
Read in November, 2007
One of the essays collected in this volume ("Robert Antelme or the Truth of Literature," 1962) carries an odd disclaimer from the compiler: "this essay dates to a time when Perec was more political in his outlook than he subsequently became," which seems to suggest that the content of the piece would be rendered invalid by a subsequent ideological shift on Perec's part.
It is in this piece, though, that Perec best sums up what was clearly his lifelong literary mission. He ...more
It is in this piece, though, that Perec best sums up what was clearly his lifelong literary mission. He ...more
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Read in August, 2007
This book is great. It's basically a collection of Perec's non-fictional works, the longest of which is the piece "Species of Spaces," which is about a hundred pages. The remainder of the book is twenty or so short pieces, some of which really dazzle in their own quirky way. Saying that, perhaps this book isn't for everyone. But Perec fascinates me, so I spent most of this book captivated. He informs me, humors me, he teases my mind and heart along through his cleverness, honesty,...more
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Read in April, 2004
Comprised of lists (things to do before death), food inventories (everything ingested in 1974), vignettes about space (page, bedroom, apartment, street, country, space, etc...), and autobiographical essays with sentences that describe everyday objects and allude to 20th c. atrocity in the same breath (he was orphaned by the holocaust and never mentions it)...his emotionally reticent style and tendency to withhold & supply detail at all the wrong moments give the reader the "space" ...more
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Read in June, 2008
Perec is a very inventive writer. He has a way of looking at things that I've never really experienced from a writer. He also tries a lot of things that most writers never thought of, stemming from his involvement in a French society celebrating word games. Not all of the essays worked for me, but the ones that did were really good. Species of Spaces was amazing. The essay about organizing books was particularly relevant seeing as I don't know where to shelve this book. I don't have an essay she...more
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Georges Perec is a wonderful French writer, who is also charming and funny as well. His obsession with crossword puzzles and games of all sorts is basically his aesthetic and the way he conveys his world in that medium is quite remarkable. This is a collection of his writings, and personally it's my favorite work of his. Nothing super grand, but I just really enjoyed this book.
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By far my favorite work of Perec, and probably in my top ten books of all time. It is a great introduction to his style; if you can't get into this, don't bother with Perec. One of my favorite works struggling with the enigma of the written word, what it means to be a writer, what it means to be a reader.
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Read in November, 2005
This man was a genius. This is a great collection to take your time over, and savor every word. There are so many of them, and they make you think in so many new ways.
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recommends it for:
other people with ocd
I love the list of everything he ate for a year.
I wish he'd lived longer, so we could have been friends.
I wish he'd lived longer, so we could have been friends.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
harry mathews
ive been to rue vilin and its nothing like he described in this book goddam banlieu liar
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ooh ooh, it just came in the mail & I'm totally reading this next!
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Read in December, 2005
Check out the parachute essay. It's amazing.
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A book to trigger ideas for writers, and maybe other creatives, by inspiring them to really see what they are seeing.
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recommends it for:
everyone
One of the favorite books that I own.
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