The Flight of Icarus

by Raymond Queneau, Barbara Wright (Translator)

In late 19th-century Paris, the writer Hubert is shocked to discover that Icarus, the protagonist of the new novel he's working on, has vanished. Looking for him among the manuscripts of his rivals does not solve the mystery, so a detective is hired to find the runaway character.

Genres: Fiction, France, French Literature, Classics, 20th Century, Literature, Novels

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Novelist, poet, and critic Raymond Queneau, was born in Le Havre in 1903, and went to Paris when he was 17. For some time he joined André Breton's Surrealist group, but after only a brief stint he dissociated himself. Now, seeing Queneau's work in retrospect, it seems inevitable. The Surrealists tried to achieve a sort of pure expression from the unconscious, without mediation of the author's self-aware "persona." Queneau's texts, on the contrary, are quite deliberate products of the author's conscious mind, of his memory, and his intentionality.

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.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Icarus is supposed to be a character in a novel…

I am preparing a melancholy existence for him which could hardly displease him because he knows no other. I want him to like moonlight, fairy roses, the exotic types of nostalgia, the languors of Spring, fin-de-siècle neuroses – all things that I personally abhor, but which go down well in the present-day novel.

But barely he is conceived by the author he flees the manuscript into the real world… So his creator is obliged to hire a cunning private eye to find the escapee…

Don’t you know Morcol – the Subtle Shadowing specialist? The man who follows adulterous women and finds lost sheep. He has appeared in many novels under different names. A second Vidocq. A second Lecoq. As the saying goes: there are times when it’s ridiculous to fight against a shadow. He’ll find your Icarus for you.

Icarus is caught but he escapes once again… Following his example, other personages run away from other authors… they want to be free and they wish to be real…

Once we are free, don’t we have the same desires, the same needs? The same faculties? Don’t we have to obey the same necessities of life?

Hence using all the achievements of the progress, Icarus decides to learn to fly…
As for the authors, they are just characters in the novel of another author…

[Orsodimondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

TUTTO È AVVENUTO SECONDO IL PREVISTO


Carlo Saraceni: Caduta di Icaro, 1606-07, Museo di Capodimonte, Napoli (in copertina di un’altra edizione Einaudi)

Il protagonista del romanzo che lo scrittore Hubert ha appena iniziato a scrivere sparisce, prende il volo.
Lo scrittore Hubert, che non siamo proprio certi sia un grande scrittore, e quindi forse la scomparsa del suo protagonista non è così grave, Hubert ingaggia il detective Morcol per ritrovarlo. Il detective commenta tra sé:
Una faccenda piuttosto pirandelliana.
Nel frattempo Icaro è libero per le strade di Parigi dove incontra una misteriosa ragazza “di origini cruciverbiste” chiamata LN


Galileo Chini: Icaro. 1907. Roma, collezione privata.

Dei gendarmi, non è dato sapere se con i pennacchi e con le armi, si presentano a casa dello scrittore Hubert: stanno cercando Icaro perché è un disertore (vero, ha disertato il romanzo di Hubert). In verità sono altri scrittori mascherati da poliziotti che stanno cercando i loro personaggi scappati dai loro romanzi: ritrovando Icaro, sperano di ritrovare i loro. Due di questi scrittori si chiamano Jean e Jacques e pensare a Rousseau non è delitto.
Icaro scappa su un aquilone, o meglio, vola su un aquilone, e atterra proprio sulle pagine del romanzo dello scrittore Hubert che conclude il racconto dicendo:
Tutto è avvenuto secondo il previsto; il mio romanzo è terminato.


Henry Matisse: Il volo di Icaro. 1947

Per una volta trovo particolarmente calibrata la quarta di copertina, firmata da Guido Neri, che riassume e racconta, e commenta, così la trama di questo romanzo:
Si era già dato il caso di personaggi che prendono la mano all'autore, o che gli sfuggono di mano, o che si fanno sfuggenti. Da un modo di dire all'altro si arriva cosí a questo Icaro, che prende la fuga e prende il volo dal manoscritto; si invola, o è involato, volerà con le proprie ali. Prende alla lettera la finzione che lo ha messo al mondo, e si mette a girare il mondo (cioè «la vasta Parigi»), aprendo il varco a uno sparuto sciame di fratelli e cugini. Guarda, beve, ama, studia, lavora, vola per davvero, e alla fine precipita. Perché, dopo tutto, oltre tutto, questa è una delle tante storie che si leggono nei romanzi.


Pieter Bruegel il Vecchio: La caduta di Icaro. Museo Reale delle Belle Arti del Belgio. 1558 circa.

Direttamente sotto forma di testo teatrale, e quindi descrizioni all’osso, dialogo dialogo dialogo, con i personaggi parlanti indicati chiaramente in maiuscolo.
Solo che è una finta opera teatrale, tanto per proseguire nell’ininterrotto gioco letterario che è tutta l’opera di Raymond Queneau.
L’effetto è quello di accelerare il ritmo del romanzo, che ha un andamento molto rapido, più in fuga che in volo, costruito com’è su struttura “botta e risposta”.

Il gioco letterario e meta-letterario si intreccia che più non posso, e per me lettore è stato godimento puro. Gioia.


Marc Chagall: La caduta di Icaro. 1975. Opéra di Parigi.

Non sono mai stato sicuro che la morale della storia di Icaro dovesse essere: “Non tentare di volare troppo in alto”, come viene intesa in genere, e mi sono chiesto se non si potesse interpretarla invece in un modo diverso: “Dimentica la cera e le piume, e costruisci ali più solide”.
Stanley Kubrick


Jacob Peter Gowy: La caduta di Icaro, Museo del Prado di Madrid, 1636/1638

[Mohaaaamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

وای عجب کتابی بود پسر، چقد چسبید.
تصور کن یه نویسنده‌ای، بعد یهو ده پونزده صفحه از رمانت رو که مینویسی یه روز میای میبینی جا تره و بچه نیست. بهتر بگم، یعنی شخصیتِ اصلیت فلنگ‌ رو بسته رفته!
چیکار میکنی؟ پا میشی میری یقه‌ی یکی از رفقای نویسنده‌ات رو میچسبی. چرا؟ چون وقتی طرحِ اولیه‌ات رو خونده بوده، از شخصیتت خوشش اومده بوده. فلذا شک نداری که کارِ خودشه!
اما کارِ اون نیست و تو متوسل به یه کارآگاه میشی.
حالا آی بگرد دنبال شخصیتت.
در خلالِ این ایده‌ی جالب، این کتاب نقدهایی هم وارد میکنه. به نویسنده‌ها میپَره. به اینکه ادعا میکنن کار جدیدی میخوان ارائه بدن اما موضوعِ کتاب‌های همشون یه چیزه: زنا!
اما نه اشتباه نکنید، کار اونها متفاوته؛ یکی از نویسنده‌ها عملِ نامشروعِ رمانش توی کالسکه‌ی قفایی اتفاق میفته، اون یکی توی یه کالسکه‌ی سیاه!
همچنین کتاب به مضحکه‌ای به نامِ دوئل هم گیر میده. یعنی چی‌ که تا تَقی به توقی میخوره درخواستِ دوئل میکنید؟ بشینید دو کَلوم حرف بزنید شاید حل شد!
رمون کنو یه کاراکترِ پزشک هم داره که تنها گواهِ پزشک بودنش چیزیه که کنو میگه. وگرنه که این آدم کلاه‌بردارترین و بی‌سوادترین پزشکیه که ممکنه. رُک باشیم: احمقه و پرادعا.
نکته‌ی دیگه راجع به این کتاب بنظر من میتونه گلایه و پیش‌بینیِ نویسنده از کمرنگ شدنِ شخصیت‌پردازی در رمان‌های تازه‌نفس باشه. رمانی که شخصیت‌پردازی نداره، شخصیتش در رفته و چیزی نیست جز تعدادی آدمک که با تعلیق و تزریقِ هیجان، ما رو تا انتهای خودش میکِشونه.
توی یک‌جایی از کتاب، یکی از شخصیت‌های فراری(به مرور شخصیت‌های دیگه هم فرار میکنن) دلیلِ کارش رو عاقبتِ ناگوارش میدونه. چی میشه اگه یه شخصیت از سرنوشتِ قرار داده شده‌اش توسط نویسنده رضایت نداشته باشه؟
مثلن چی میشه اگه راسکولنیکوف با کشتنِ پیرزن با تبر موافقت نکنه و از این کار جا بزنه؟
یا چی میشه اگه آقای مورسو آینده‌اش در رمانِ بیگانه رو قبول نکنه؟
چرا این شخصت‌ها نگریخته‌ان؟ شاید دلیلش در قدرتِ نویسنده توی پرداخت به شخصیت و ساختِ موقعیت‌های مختلف نهفته است. شخصیتِ این دست نویسنده‌ها خصوصیاتی کاملن منطبق با اعمالشون توی کتاب رو دارا هستن. چه بهانه‌ای واسه قبول نکردن و جا زدن؟ آنها با دل و جان اینکار رو انجام میدن!
پس نتیجه‌گیری اخلاقی اینکه نویسنده‌های عزیز اگه خوب روی شخصیت‌هاشون کار نکنن و در عین حال وظایفِ دشواری رو گردنِ اونها بندازن، امکان داره شخصیت‌هاشون فلنگ رو از کتاب ببندن!

[Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

یک رمانِ سورئالِ منحصر به فرد که میشه گفت به سبک نمایشنامه روایت شده با طنز ظریف و ترجمه ی خوب.
پیشنهاد میکنم بخونید ، تجربه ی خوبیه...

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

”Ah! Icarus! Icarus! why try to elude the fate for which I had destined you? Where have you landed, in attempting to try out your wings? I await your return, whether voluntary or involuntary. In the meantime, all I can do is stare, dry-eyed, at that hard, forgotten lake which, under the hoar-frost, is haunted by the absence of a character. What a fate- that of a novelist without characters! Perhaps that is how it will be for all of us, one day. We won’t have any more characters. We shall be authors in search of characters. The novel will perhaps not be dead, but it won’t have characters in it any more. Difficult to imagine, a novel without characters. But isn’t all progress, if progress exists, difficult to imagine?”

Another masterpiece from Queneau, who again and again gives proof as to why when someone asks me “Who are your favorite writers?” my response is almost always “James Joyce and Raymond Queneau...” (so there, now you know something about ME!)... This 1968 novel in the form of a play (and translated here by the unstoppably badass Queneau translator par excellence Barbara Wright) takes the conceit from such works as At Swim-Two-Birds and Mulligan Stew, that fictional characters have their own autonomous lives and existences independent from the works in which they were created, and are somewhat free to roam about the wide world on their own merry way. Queaneau employs that idea in a madcap parody of Pirandello's Theater of the Absurd when Icarus takes leave of Hubert Lubert’s novel and wanders 1890’s Paris, its absinthe bars, wide boulevards, and mauve parks(?)- all the while pursued by bewildered authors, an incompetent private detective, and ladies lusting after his Icarian je nais se quoi. Icarus’s eventual interest in all things to do with mechanical PROGRESS and the play's setting at the heart and capital of fin-de-siecle Europe can be seen as something of metaphor making on Queneau’s part (blind faith in industry and machinery taking us ever closer to that enigmatic and unreachable SUN which just melts our wings okay!) and comments, in almost-asides in the dialogue, on the limits of space and time and progress make this truly hilarious comedy into something more along the lines of a work of farcical philosophizing. (And is not farce a philosophy of its own?) Anyway, this’ll take you about 2 hours to read, and it’s brilliant and hilarious, so do it.

[Navid Taghavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

روی ورق‌ها اثری از ایکار نیست، لابه‌لای آن‌ها هم.
زیر اثاثیه را می‌گردد. گنجه‌ها را باز می‌کند، می‌رود توالت‌ها را می‌بیند: ایکاری در کار نیست.
…
"پرواز ایکار" از همان ابتدا، خلاقانه و بازیگوش است. اوبر، ایکار را گم کرده است. اوبر پانزده صفحه‌ از رمان جدیدش را نوشته است، اما حالا می‌بین�� ایکار که شخصیت اصلی رمان است، ناپدید شده است. اوبر صفحات ابتدایی رمانش را برای سورژه خوانده بود و به دل سورژه نشسته بود. به خانه سورژه می‌رود. سراغ میز کار همکارش می‌رود و دست‌نوشته هایش را به‌هم می‌ریزد. آخرین نوشته‌های سورژه را هم می‌خواند اما خبری از ایکار نیست. شکش بی‌دلیل بوده است. سورژه، ایکار را ندزدیده است. سورژه، به اوبرِ درمانده توصیه می‌کند سراغ کارآگاهی به‌نام مورکول برود.
اوبر می‌خواهد نادر بودن پرونده‌اش را عیان کند و مورکول را متوجه اهمیت موضوع بکند، اما برای مورکول که فقط پرونده‌های خاص را پذیرش می‌کند، چیزی برای غافلگیری وجود ندارد. مورکول از ویژگی‌های شخصیتی و ظاهری ایکار می‌پرسد. پاسخ اوبر به بعضی سوال‌ها شفاف و بعضی دیگر مبهم است. اوبر از نامزد پاکدامنِ ایکار هم می‌گوید. اوبر با دریافت پیش‌پرداخت ده لویی کارش را شروع می‌کند. در جذاب‌ترین بخش گفتگوی کارآگاه و نویسنده، مورکول پس از شنیدن ماجرای فرار ایکار از زبان اوبر می‌گوید : "جریان خیلی پیراندلویی است." – با اشاره به ایده نمایشنامه معروف پیراندلو به‌نام شش شخصیت در جستجوی نویسنده – اما اوبر؛ این رمان‌نویس حرفه‌ای و مشهور حتی نام پیراندلو هم به گوشش نخورده است،چه برسد به دانستن و یا خواندن این نمایشنامه‌ی مشهور.
حال، پاریس است و ماجراهایی که پیشِ روی ایکارِ است که با دنیای واقعی بیگانه است. اوبر و مورکول همچنان در پی او هستند. ... والبته نباید از آن نامزد پاکدامن هم غافل شد.
"پرواز ایکار" آخرین رمان رمون کنوی فرانسوی است که در کارنامه خود رمان مهم دیگری هم به‌نام "زازی در مترو" دارد. کنو "زازی در مترو" را در سال 1959 منتشر شد و در فاصله کوتاهی، لویی مال فیلمی اقتباسی بر اساس همین رمان و با همین نام ساخت.

[Philippe Malzieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queneau is one of my preferred writers. I read all his books in the complète edition the Pleiad. There are several themes in these books. Country chronicles with fantastic, urban novels and atypical objects.In this last there is 100 000 000 000 poems. I would like to rate it but I can't find the good ISBN. Don't forget that Queneau was mathematician. He creates OULIPO for submit language to mathematical rules. For exemple, Pérec from Oulipo write a book without e (the disparition). Queneau write all his book on mathematical structure.
Back to Icarus. It's the last book, very atypical. It is a reflection on writing. Can a character escape to its author? The novel is in the novel. But I think that is well beyond that. What is a novel? A pagan mythology tells us Roland Barthes. There must thus be a conversion of the hero at the end of the book. Icare want to escape to its condition. Its wing breaks. It falls down in the book, History is finished and author said as he had written thus. The author would be thus God. This novel was written by Queneau then he knew he was going to die. For me the book has a metaphysical dimension.

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a brisk postmodern amusement, this late Queneau work is basically fluff, but it's good, entertaining fluff as far as that goes. Basically, a novelist loses his protagonist, who begins to make his way on his own in Paris, despite the detective enlisted to track him down. All expected hijinx ensue. Queneau maintains a light touch and general pervasive likeability, and his turns of words and word-play have a much better rate of actual humor than generally expected of this sort of thing, even through the translation. And I like the early-20th-century context of the emergence of bikes and automobiles that creeps into the plotline, as well. I think my relative resistance to Queneau is basically just a result of my being a pretty hard sell on comedic writing.

[Matthew Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

76th book of 2021.

A novel in the form of a script: a novelist's character, Icarus, has vanished from the manuscript and now wandering Paris. It's a fun novel(?) but not entirely compelling as I dislike reading script-formats on the whole. Barbara Wright is a wonderful translator and keeps the humorous wordplay that Queneau adopts throughout about Icarus always flying here and there and taking wing from the pub or whatever he happens to be doing.

******************************

See also:
Exercises in Style, Queneau
At Swim-Two-Birds, O'Brien.

[Ronald Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those that don’t know, Raymond Queneau was the co-founder of the Oulipo group/movement (lazily quoting Wikipedia: Ouvroir de littérature potentielle; roughly translated: "workshop of potential literature"). His most famous works are likely Exercises in Style (in which a short story is told 99 different times, each in a different “style”); Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes; translated to Hundred Thousand Billion Poems (a book of ten sonnets, but each page is cut into 14 strips – for each line of the sonnets – so that the sonnets can be rearranged to make a “Hundred Thousand Billion Poems” – an aside; this was translated into English, in an edition of 500 copies, and now sells for ridiculous sums of money. I would possibly do terrible things to get my hands on a copy of the translation); and The Blue Flowers (a farcical romp through 700 years of history).

The Flight of Icarus is more of a secondary work in his oeuvre, as it is generally less discussed than the works referenced above, and the driving idea behind it is slighter in scope than his more primary works – the book is about an author in late 19th century France who, after writing 15 or so pages of a new work, finds that his main character – Icarus – has gone missing (“taken flight”). There are two intertwined storylines: One in which Icarus begins hanging out in the seedier parts of France; learning how to drink absinthe, moving in with a prostitute – it follows a pretty standard literary convention where a person is introduced to the big city for the first time and comes of age. The other storyline follows Morcol, a detective hired to track down the missing Icarus. The novel is written as a play – Queneau is parodying Luigi Pirandello, which is referenced fairly early in the book – and is broken up into 74 short scenes.

The thing is, this probably would be a pretty disposable idea – the play on words in the title being the driving force behind the entire book – in the hands of most authors, but Queneau is not most authors. In his hands the book is rollicking and hilarious, and throughout has a driving intelligence that lifts it above its simple idea and basic parody. Oh, and there are terrible puns – very much intentional – if you are into that sort of thing. If you like Queneau, or Oulipo, or quick funny reads, then this is a solid read, well worth checking out.

[Amir Najafi · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگه دنبال یه رمان متفاوت و باحال و بامزه می‌گردین "پرواز ایکار" رو از دست ندین.
داستان این‌طوری شروع می‌شه که یک نویسنده داره رمانی می‌نویسه در مورد شخصیتی به اسم "ایکار"؛ اما ایکار از داخل کتاب فرار می‌کنه و وارد خیابون‌های پاریس می‌شه و حالا نویسنده یه کارآگاه استخدام می‌کنه تا ایکار رو برگردونه :)
خوندن این رمان مثل دیدن یه فیلم قدیمی کمدی فرانسویه.
ترجمه‌ی خوبی هم داره.
پ.ن. : "ایکار" فرانسوی اسم ایکاروسه؛ و ایکاروس هم یکی از اسطوره‌های یونان باستانه که همراه پدرش "دِدالوس" درون یک هزارتو زندانی می‌شه و پدرش بال‌هایی از پر پرندگان که با موم عسل به هم چسبیده شدن درست می‌کنه و پرواز می‌کنن و از هزارتو رهایی می‌یابن؛ اما ایکاروس، بی‌توجه به توصیه‌ی پدر، بالا و بالاتر می‌ره تا به خورشید برسه غافل از این‌که موم‌ها به خاطر گرما آب می‌شن و بال خراب می‌شه و ایکاروس سقوط می‌کنه و می‌میره.

[Lisa Reads & Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Playful and light and charming. Provides flights of fancy for writers especially, but other folks moving along on this side of the turf may enjoy it as well. There's a metaphysical slant, subtle, if the reader is prone to such kinds of pondering. Chuckles are always welcome, and you'll find them here.

The main character, Icarus, is true to his name, with a new storyline that veers in an unexpected direction, until you realize the theme was there all along. I plan to read more of Queneau's work, which is the best compliment, yes?

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel in script. Charming and hilarious and as cute as a button.

[Simona B · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the strangest things I have ever read.

[Zeynab · Rating 5 out of 5]

مدت‌ها بود خوندن یک کتاب اینقدر بهم نچسبیده بود.
و نیشم باز بود موقع خوندنش از کیفوری.
خلاقیت ایده‌اش و پرداختش» ۱۰ از ۱۰

[Paul Dembina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun this was. Rather than Six Characters in Search of an Author it was more Several Characters Seek Freedom From Their Authors.
A quick and enjoyable read - over all too soon. My favourite Queneau after Exercises in Style

[Zahra · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب ایده خیلی قوی‌ای داشت و برای من خیلی جذاب پیش رفت
و بخاطر نوع نوشتارش که بیشتر به نمایشنامه شبیهه خیلی سریع تموم شد

[Chuck LoPresti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amongst the essential Queneau. Characters take flight from their pages and assume responsibility of their own fates. Succinct and essential - Queneau cuts the kite string from traditional character development and in possibly his most surreal writing the role of author, doctor, lover and character are all re-examined through Queneau's clarifying lense. Despite his reputation as odd and the seemingly bizarre subject matter - this is among Queneau's more straight-forward reads. It moves very fast and there's a playful honesty to his style in this work that I can best describe as charming. Through the various reviews and comments about Queneau here on Goodreads you can perceive various levels of appreciation for his writing and often people ask where to start. This might be the place. It's probably his easiest work to follow and easiest to appreciate. Queneau starts with a nifty idea - tells his story with appreciation for the intelligence of his audience and their time and gilds it all with his ever present playful wit - essential Queneau. Queneau never seems to move too far from Jarry and it's possibly more evident here than any other work. Cycling seems to be the logical conclusion of both writers and both were obviously concerned about the life-giving nature of the writer. As in Dr. Faustroll - the destination is secondary to the journey and being receptive to stimulation and continual change seems to be the prescribed remedy for boredom. Some of Queneau's work strays so far from any linear narrative that it's about as fun to read as symbolist Jarry - not very fun at all. If such writing doesn't please you and you'd like to give one of the more important French writers of the 20th-C a whirl - this might be the place to start. Along side Zazie and Pierrot - Icarus should please both those familiar with Queneau and those willing to take the time to appreciate this brilliant thinker and writer. For some reason I never have Molnar's Lillion far from my thoughts when I read Queneau - they both share an odd way of bringing their characters from darkness of non-reality into a brilliant flaming presence that threatens to extinguish itself once you look away. Both writers seem to capture fleeting youth with uncanny clarity. Add Jarry and of course Rabelais (the pre-Jarry) as the greatest writers I'm aware of that seem to negotiate this same space between the clarity of childhood and the cyclopean wisdom of maturity. We know Icarus will crash in flames but where we are rewarded as living readers is in sharing the course of developments that defines existence prior to the inevitable decrescendo.

[Mohsenam · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکی از شخصیت‌های رمان نیمه‌کاره‌ی نویسنده فرار می‌کند! یعنی واقعا از لای دفتر بیرون می‌آید و وارد جامعه‌ی پاریسی می‌شود و نویسنده با کمک یک کارآگاه به دنبالش می‌رود.
داستان بیشتر با دیالوگ و به شکل گفت‌وگو پیش می‌رود و منطق خاص خودش را دارد. پر از شخصیت‌های جذاب، صادق، نیمه دیوانه.
و در آخر همه‌ی این نمایش رو یک نویسنده فرانسوی کارگردانی کرده باشه!
ترجمه کاوه سیدحسینی واقعا کافی بود و به خوبی تونسته بود زبان مخصوص نویسنده و حالات شخصیت‌ها رو به فارسی برگردانی کنه.

[Noce · Rating 4 out of 5]

La vita aiuta a sognare, o i sogni aiutano a vivere? Così direbbe Marzullo.

Ma qui piuttosto la domanda da farsi è: la fantasia serve a evadere dalla realtà, o la realtà serve a fuggire dalla fantasia di qualcun altro?

Icaro è il personaggio di due romanzi: quello del suo autore, che lo vorrebbe instradare verso un destino melanconico di fine secolo, e quello che leggiamo noi, in cui Icaro, decide di "involare"fuori dal manoscritto che lo imprigiona verso un futuro più roseo.

E come dargli torto del resto?

"Che voleva da me Monsieur Lubert? Che trascinassi un'esistenza melanconica, disseminata di amori fallaci o funerei, di soggiorni in appartamenti ovattati e polverosi, dove mi sarei rosicchiato le unghie pensando alla mia anima che, se quegli lo avesse osato, sarebbe diventata un'infanta in vestito di gala. Avrei forse avuto qualche duello, ma più probabilmente mi sarebbe toccato vagare lungo le sponde dei laghi italiani all'ombra dei cipressi clorotici." (Pag. 106)

Da qui naturalmente io non posso fare a meno di farmi il mio film personale. Perché a pensarci bene, se veramente potesse andare così, se i personaggi dei libri potessero scappare quando vogliono ribellarsi a un destino già scritto nel vero senso della parola, vi immaginate il macello? Mettiamo che il vecchio de "Il vecchio e il mare" incontri per caso, mentre sta sulla sua bagnarola a lottare con il marlin, i Tre uomini in barca di Jerome. Roba che l'indomani li trovano tutti e quattro ubriachi e felici, mentre il cane Montmorency gioca a carte con il marlin.
Oppure mettiamo che Jacopo Ortis mentre è in ritiro sui colli Euganei depresso e infelice, si imbatta nei protagonisti de "La solitudine dei numeri primi", sarebbe come prendere due piccioni con una fava, basterebbe che chiacchierassero per un quarto d'ora assieme e dopo deciderebbero di avviarsi verso un suicidio di massa con singolare allegria. :)

Ma magari anche no, magari diventerebbero migliori di come li volevano i loro creatori sulla carta, e Queneau, consapevole di questa opzione, colpisce e ci affonda tutti a pag. 163

ICARO: Una volta liberi, non abbiamo gli stessi desideri? gli stessi bisogni? le stesse facoltà? Non dobbiamo sottostare alle medesime necessità della vita?
MAITRETOUT: Una volta liberi, sì, ma rischiamo sempre di tornare a un’altra condizione, se veniamo recuperati. Non così l’altra gente.
ICARO: Che ne sappiamo? Forse è la stessa cosa. Son forse personaggi di un’altra specie di autori.
MAITRETOUT: Non riesco a seguirla

E infatti dà da pensare. Anche noi siamo scappati dal disegno di qualcuno per farci per un po' i cavoli nostri?
Anche noi, nonostante gli sforzi per elevarci da un comune destino, abbiamo dentro qualcosa di "segnato"intrinsecamente nel nostro nome, che inevitabilmente ci riporta a ciò che era stabilito?

Io preferisco pensare alla via di mezzo, che anche se sapessimo di che morte dobbiamo morire, il libero arbitrio ci conceda comunque di disporre di ciò che c'è in mezzo tra la vita e la morte, senza bisogno di seguire il bugiardino.

Insomma per dirla alla Troisi, ma tra cento giorni da pecora e uno da leoni, non se ne possono fare cinquanta da orsacchiotto?

[Amaranta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Può un personaggio di un racconto sognare la libertà e desiderare di vivere fuori dalle pagine? Per Queneau si. E lo fa con una leggerezza e l’umorismo che lo contraddistingue. E così Icaro sparisce, si costruisce una vita soddisfacente e piena mentre il suo creatore si strugge per trovarlo. Ma è davvero libero per sempre?
ICARO. Una volta liberi non abbiamo gli stessi desideri, gli stessi bisogni le stesse facoltà? Non dobbiamo sottostare alle medesime difficoltà della vita?
Il ritmo del racconto è concitato, in un via vai di inseguimenti, di personaggi ridicoli e divertenti, di dramma nella farsa. Una lettura piacevolissima, che diverte e catalizza il lettore.
ICARO: Spenta la stufa, comincia la primavera. L’inchiostro cola sulla carta bianca in rivoletti esili e fertili donde nascono amici, nemici, parenti e piante ornamentali negli angoli degli appartamenti di reps e di velluto, di legno dal caldo colore del mogano, e di cuoio di Cordova. La penna guida un piccolo mondo di oggetti e di nomi verso un destino che mi sfugge. Mi trovo là in piedi accanto a una poltrona e aspetto.
***
Tempo fa su un social di lettori ho conosciuto un tipo con un nome buffo, con cui ho avuto un piacevole e arguto scambio di opinioni. Ho scoperto solo leggendo questo libro che è un alter ego inesistente dell’Icaro del libro. E che lui, proprio come il suo prototipo di carta, è volato verso altri lidi per una malattia terribile, e che prima però, si è preoccupato con gentilezza di sistemare i suoi due cari amici pelosi, compagni di una vita.
E allora ciao Nick, continua a volare lontano.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Great Charm Wars, Raymond Queneau is always a formidable Franco force (FFF). This bastard, Icarus, is at the arrow-tip of his attack; Queneau’s many ways of charming are so…alarming?…that…it’s, I mean, I’m…disarming??…no, barming???…I meant to say ‘farmi—‘

Fuggit, I quit [throws in towel].

[Karla Paredes]

The short story ‘The Flight of Icarus” may be sad for some people or even disappointing but, for me it was a rollercoaster that went up and down with different emotions. For example in the beginning, they were happy planning their escape from the prison of King Minor. They though everything was going to go as planned. Until the day of the escape Icarus got too carried away and kept going up towards the sky so, his wings melted. This caused Icarus to fall having a certain death. No matter how fast his father went, it was too late. Now you can see the emotions changed. This is what makes a story have a good structure for me, because you never know what will happen next.

[Maria Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a person who loves myths; I also love descriptive writing. Myths are stories that greeks created to explain the mysteries in life, and for me that is so thoughtful. These stories include great descriptions and it makes every thing sound huge.The Flight of Icarus doesn't quite explain something but it still include great characteristics. The author's descriptions made me visualize the myth as if it was a movie in my head! The only problem was that it was too short!

[Anahita Solot · Rating 4 out of 5]

باید مفصل فکر کنم و بعد بنویسم.
فعلا می‌گم واقعا کتاب محشری بود.

[Black Glove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the form of a script/play/closet drama, Queneau's The Flight of Icarus is a quicksilver fiction telling the peculiar story of Icarus, a young man who somehow escapes the pages of an eccentric writer's new novel.
Presented in 74 short segments, the reader is swept along by a host of lightly-drawn Parisian characters.
Subtle, wry and knowing humour pervades the quite minimalist text. On the surface this is a skin-deep literary romp - a quirky adventure - yet if you care to analyse more you'll discover deeper issues being addressed.
I believe it will especially appeal to those involved in the strange craft (graft!) that is fiction writing. All in all a unique comedy novel: flighty, fast-paced and raised-eyebrow funny - easy to read and easy to like.

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Flight of Icarus" took me on a emotional roller coaster. It was very exciting, especially when Icarus and his father were making wings. This story was also very surprising, but on the other hand, it was sad. It shocked me when Icarus went to close to the sun and his wings melted, and he fell.

The essential theme is obedience, always listen to your parents. If Icarus would have listened to his father he would not have gotten that close to the sun and his wings wouldn't have melted, but most importantly he wouldn't have died.Kids should be as obedient as a puppet.

[Daniel El-Hage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is like a bunch of butterflies in my stomach."The Flight of Icarus" has a perfect way of expressing ideas to the reader. That makes an interesting story in which hope is included. It made me feel like if I was really escaping from a prison in wings made from a dead bird. If the story wouldn't have all those little details, it would have been a boring one, and readers don't like boring stories...

[Guille · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story “The Flight of Icarus” made my mind go wild. In my opinion, it was a suspenseful story. It was clearly a teamwork kind of story. It showed that teamwork can accomplish everything. The fact that Icarus dies was a totally unexpected factor from the story. This story was full of scenes that hit me like “BANG!”; completely unexpected actions. This story was just pure awesomeness.


Guillermo Alba

[Matt Leibel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been meaning to read some Queneau for a while. I thought this was just hysterical, a meta-story without all the tedious meta-theory. Author loses his character, hires a detective to track him down, character is loose in the world and only a few weeks old--hijinks ensue. Want to read more of his stuff, and more OULIPO in general. I like the combo of wild playfulness and structural constraints.