The Art and Method of Approaching Your Boss to Ask For a Raise

by Georges Perec

so having weighed the pros and cons you've decided to approach your boss to ask for that well-earned raise in salary but before you schedule the all-important meeting you decide to dip into this handy volume in the hope of finding some valuable tips but instead find a hilarious, mind-bending farcical account of all the many different things that may or may not happen on the journey to see your boss which uses no punctuation or capitalisation and certainly no full stops.

Georges Perec famously wrote a whole novel without using the letter 'e'. Now, in this playful short novel, brilliantly translated by David Bellos, Perec once again dispenses with the normal rules for literary compostion, with similarly pyrotechnic results.

Genres: Fiction, France, Humor, French Literature, Literature, Comedy, 20th Century

112 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1968

About the author

Georges Perec was a highly-regarded French novelist, filmmaker, and essayist. He was a member of the Oulipo group. Many of his novels and essays abound with experimental wordplay, lists, and attempts at classification, and they are usually tinged with melancholy.

Born in a working-class district of Paris, Perec was the only son of Icek Judko and Cyrla (Schulewicz) Peretz, Polish Jews who had emigrated to France in the 1920s. He was a distant relative of the Yiddish writer Isaac Leib Peretz.

Perec's first novel, Les Choses (Things: A Story of the Sixties) was awarded the Prix Renaudot in 1965.

In 1978, Perec won the prix Médicis for Life: A User's Manual (French title, La Vie mode d'emploi), possibly his best-known work. The 99 chapters of this 600 page piece move like a knight's tour of a chessboard around the room plan of a Paris apartment building, describing the rooms and stairwell and telling the stories of the inhabitants.

Cantatrix Sopranica L. is a spoof scientific paper detailing experiments on the "yelling reaction" provoked in sopranos by pelting them with rotten tomatoes. All the references in the paper are multi-lingual puns and jokes, e.g. "(Karybb et Scyla, 1973)".

Perec is also noted for his constrained writing: his 300-page novel La disparition (1969) is a lipogram, written without ever using the letter "e". It has been translated into English by Gilbert Adair under the title A Void (1994). The silent disappearance of the letter might be considered a metaphor for the Jewish experience during the Second World War. Since the name 'Georges Perec' is full of 'e's, the disappearance of the letter also ensures the author's own 'disappearance'.

His novella Les revenentes (1972) is a complementary univocalic piece in which the letter "e" is the only vowel used. This constraint affects even the title, which would conventionally be spelt Revenantes. An English translation by Ian Monk was published in 1996 as The Exeter Text: Jewels, Secrets, Sex in the collection Three.

It has been remarked by Jacques Roubaud that these two novels draw words from two disjoint sets of the French language, and that a third novel would be possible, made from the words not used so far (those containing both "e" and a vowel other than "e").

W ou le souvenir d'enfance, (W, or, the Memory of Childhood, 1975) is a semi-autobiographical work which is hard to classify. Two alternating narratives make up the volume: one, a fictional outline of a totalitarian island country called "W", patterned partly on life in a concentration camp; and the second, descriptions of childhood. Both merge towards the end when the common theme of the Holocaust is explained.

Perec was a heavy smoker throughout his life, and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1981. He died the following year in Ivry-sur-Seine at only forty-five-years old. His ashes are held at the columbarium of the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

David Bellos wrote an extensive biography of Perec: Georges Perec: A Life in Words, which won the Académie Goncourt's bourse for biography in 1994.

Reviews

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué genialidad de libro… ¿Cómo puede un autor ser tan original para escribir una maravilla así?
Nunca había leído a Perec, pero reconozco que es un artesano de la palabra.
El relato, escrito en segunda persona del singular, una forma de escribir a la que sólo se animaron autores como Michel Butor o Julio Cortázar, a modo de recomendación para un señor que quiere pedirle un aumento al jefe de su sector, está redactado sin comas ni puntos seguidos, o sea, que debe leerse de un tirón hasta el final de la última página (como ese cuento de Gabriel García Márquez que se llama “El barco del fin del mundo”), mientras uno se ríe a carcajadas sin parar.
Me encantó y liego de haber leído también su obra cumbre “La vida, instrucciones de uso”, buscaré "El secuestro", otra maravilla en la que suprime durante toda la novela la letra más utilizada en el idioma francés que es la E, lo que obligó a los traductores al español a quietar la A.
Qué maestro, don Perec...

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were to write one sentence (novel) about professional life, this would be it.

Unfortunately, it's already written, and as sentences (novels) go, it's quite long (short) and impressive, despite being rather lacking in decisive action and conclusive argument, but since it does exist in all its incompleteness, I won't write it, as that would be superfluous, and redundant actions should be avoided, which is something I learned from reading this sentence (novel) about how to get a raise, and I am very grateful I learned at least something from reading it, because despite its suggestive title, the sentence (novel) does NOT tell you how to get a raise, as the protagonist fails in the endeavor, despite taking care to add a beautiful chart to describe the different paths leading to the boss' office in order to ask for the well-deserved raise...

So I won't write that sentence (novel). But I will happily add another superfluous review to my collection. Here it is. To make up for the lack of punctuation above, I will add a lot of it here:

Brilliant, absolutely fantastic failure to describe how human beings function on a daily basis. Beginning with a flow chart, it shows different options that present themselves to an insignificant employee in an undefined company. The text tries to express in words how we go in circles, checking availability and options, trying and retrying to connect to our environment, without any tangible success. It is also wonderful and incredibly funny proof that life as we actually live it cannot be accurately transformed into a text or a computer program. It simply has too many variables!

Pelevin's The Helmet of Horror: The Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is not more of a labyrinth than this everyday serendipity around a boss' office. The message in each case is as subtle as it is absolute:

"Get lost!"

Must-Read if you like incomprehensible texts! Or the harsh realities of life. Or both. Might be something for fans of old-fashioned flow charts as well.

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the one proper occupation I have held down within an adulthood of shameless bumming about in the name of books, I once considered requesting a raise. I was writing a novel entitled A Postmodern Belch at the time, large portions of which were completed in the staff room, and the constant interruptions at having to return to work (in an abandoned hotel for bankers who never read novels), forced me into confronting the boss (an inferior) about the ethics of keeping a promising talent in a worthless occupation while he could be writing a novel in which nothing happens four times, and sitting on his keister reading hundreds of novels that will help refine his artistic acumen. I never confronted the boss, but the fact I believed in my marrow that I was a superior being whose artistic efforts should be funded by a national corporation speaks volumes of my arrogance and skewed hold on reality, and explains the subsequent half-decade of blissful unemployment that followed. My advice to emerging writers: never work a day in your life if you can help it.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

my personal opinion is that we should all immediately quit our jobs, right away, the sooner the better; bash that desktop computer screen to tiny bits with your fists and make a bloody mosaic; pluck the buttons from the keyboard and play an impromptu game of Scrabble with your most loathed office mate; take that cute little gal or guy you secretly crush on out to a field of wildflowers and frig your brains out; make wreaths of crushed wildflowers and long grasses and place petals on your naked bodies in pleasing patterns; watch from the wildflower field as your newly liberated ex-coworkers light the high rise aflame; glory at the luminescent vision of window panes heated to their melting point and the glittering rainbow lava flows they make as they spill erotically down twisting girders and crackling, buckling concrete; go next door to the bank and let loose the guard dogs, give them steaks, pet their nuzzles, rob the bank, take a hostage and give him 20,000 dollars, have a steak dinner with the guard dogs, give them A-1 sauce and roasted garlic to squeeze onto the steaks, make sure there's butter; when the police come you'll realize they've quit their jobs too and you all shoot police issue pistols at the setting sun and then the moon, you shoot guns into the air all night long, you shatter the moon, the moon is gone! you drink bottles of lillet rouge and Syrian arak with ex-policemen until sunrise, when you use the rest of your ammo up shooting leaves off of the trees at the arboretum; the Amorphophallus titanum, the corpse flower, is blooming and the stench combined with the alcohol makes you retch; you see a suspicious reddening spot forming on your genitals and you curse that frigged office mate, but quietly; you decide something needs to be done, you begin writing out an employee's evaluation form and in the "accomplishments for the past fiscal year" line you write "GAVE ME REDDENING SPOT ON GENITALS; REQUEST ANALYSIS AND POSSIBLE FURLOUGH"; you realize the alcohol has only made the ex-policemen angry and confused and without a proper outlet to expend their energies; they're out of ammo and the moon's shot out of the sky and anyway the sky is blood red because this is THE DAY EVERYONE KNEW WAS COMING BUT COULDN'T CONCEIVE OF and now the policemen are polishing their billy clubs and winking at each other and the guard dogs have wiped their faces clean of steak juices with checkered napkins you provided and are eyeing you greedily and bottles of lillet rouge have burst in the gutters and you realize your job was your health insurance provider and your genitals ache and burn and the atmosphere is getting hotter and hotter and the sky is red like hellfire and the cement under your naked feet is starting to liquefy and there you are, you naked idiot, and THE DAY EVERYONE KNEW WAS COMING BUT DENIED is here at last

[Eliasdgian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Χρειάστηκε κάτι λιγότερο από ένα Ουλπιανό έτος (διάρκειας 3 ημερών, 13 ωρών και 30 λεπτών) για να παρακολουθήσω, το ίδιο συγκεντρωμένος, όλες εκείνες τις εναλλακτικές δυνατότητες που ο (ευφυής) Ζωρζ Περέκ παραθέτει σ’ ένα απολύτως άστικτο κείμενο, όσον αφορά τον ενδεδειγμένο τρόπο (και χρόνο) για να προσεγγίσει κανείς ορθά τον προϊστάμενο της υπηρεσίας του και να του ζητήσει (χωρίς να είναι απαραίτητο ότι θα πάρει κιόλας) αύξηση.

Αντιπροσωπευτικό έργο του Εργαστηρίου Δυνητικής Λογοτεχνίας, η ανάγνωση του οποίου δεν υπήρξε όσο απολαυστική ανέμενα.

[Kathrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

so you pick up this book and you either read it or you don't if you don't you're missing out on a really cool experiment that may seem tedious at first but keep with it if you keep with it you will come out in the end with a deeper appreciation of the power or language and an empowerment to break the rules if only to learn why the rules are there in the first place and if you read it which you should you may decide you need to take a break every once in a while because all this circumperambulation is getting a little wearisome but then he'll throw in a word or two that makes it all fresh again and you pick the book up again and start just anywhere on the page cuz the lack of punctuation means the beginning can be anywhere but it only ends once and that's kind of nice so you read from just anywhere and you follow this poor man who only wants to earn just a few francs more a year and he circumperambulates which is not in the dictionary but you know exactly just what he's doing don't you and he plans to go in for the attack and he plans and he goes in for the attack and no one is in the office so he plans to go back and he plans and he circumperambulates again and if you read this book which you should you will read it quickly in a very good mood or you will read it slowly but you will still be in a good mood because if you're in a bad mood you likely won't read it but you should.

[Goatboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one last night in one hilarious, feverish sitting, which might be the only way to read a 50 page single recursive sentence. Positively existential in its acknowledgement of the absurdity and futility of life, and yet so honest in the human portrayal of that same absurdity that you cannot help but to laugh along in sympathy. The ever so slight yet effective variations in repeated phrases, the ever-shifting unpredictable moods of ms wye, and the always perfectly placed "for we must do our best to keep things simple" which manages to be both true and absolutely NOT true...

This was a fun pleasure to read and I can't wait to share it with others.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

17th book from my reading challenge with Ted.

#3 - Read a fiction book by an OULIPO writer.

Expertly written. Tightly laid out. Witty and controlled.

An utter chore.

[Argos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perec bu kitabında üyesi olduğu Oulipo grubunun uygulamalarından birini kullanmış, hiç gramer işareti kullanmamış, ne nokta ne virgül ne büyük harf ne paragraf. Kitap başlyor ve koca bir cümle olarak bitiyor. Bence deneysel edebiyat bu.
Kitap başında verilen şemaya uygun olarak kelime ve akıl oyunlarıyla, bir kişinin “ücret artışı talebinde bulunmak için servis şefine yanaşma sanatı ve biçimi” hakkında mizahi bir anlatım sergiliyor.
Sinirleriniz sağlamsa (!) ve sabrınız varsa başlayın, zaten ara vermeksizin hızla okuyarak sona geldiğinizi göreceksiniz. Okunmasa da olanlardan.

[Ronald Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brief so I will also be brief.

I was going to say that I am perfectly willing to be proven wrong in this, but then I realized that I was in fact not in any way willing to be proven wrong in this, and I won't even bother entertaining counter-points: I don't actually think Perec ever made a literary misstep. Like, ever.

The actual title of this book in literal translation is "the art and craft of approaching your head of department to submit a request for a raise." Believe it or not, this is actually a much more apt title than "The Art of Asking Your Boss for a Raise" and it annoys me that it was changed. I'm not really sure why the change - it's not like it's going to appeal to a larger audience, though, I will note, that the thought that someone is giving this book away to co-workers or business-friends as well-meaning advice is fucking hilarious. But that original title, in all its clinical wordiness is actually perfect for this book - as this book is in fact meant to novelize a computer simulation of a flow chart showing how to ask ones boss for a raise.

I let that sink in.

Yes, this is a novelization of a flow-chart. Christ I fucking love Perec. And, to make things better there is not one single piece of punctuation in the entire book until the period on the very last page (excluding, I suppose, dashes).

having carefully weighed the pros and cons you gird up your loins and make up your mind to go and see your head of department to ask for a raise so you go to see your head of department let us assume to keep things simple - for we must be do our best to keep things simple - that his name is mr xavier that's to say mr x it's one thing or t'other either mr x is at his desk or mr x is not at his desk if mr x is at his desk it will be quite straighforward but obviously mr x is not at his desk [...]

And, it's not a spoiler since the flowchart is included in the front and back of the book, but the flowchart does not actually have any output where you actually get a raise.

All around clever, well-executed, at times laugh-out-loud funny. I recommend the reader set aside a quiet hour to just blast through the whole thing. Entirely worth your time.

[Adriana Scarpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Com um humor judaico neurótico obsessivo digno de Woody Allen e Larry David, Perec descreve matematicamente um organograma de forma linear em suas infinitas possibilidades e sem pontuações, o que o torna realmente cansativo de ler, mas que é de uma genialidade sem volta.

[Andrew]

It's hard to escape the conclusion that Georges Perec was one smart bastard, and this is near the pinnacle of his most smartypants, oulipian experimental fiction. And like the best experimental fiction, it's something us office drones can relate to -- as I write this I'm scanning the fluorescent-lit, Cisco dialtone world which I'm paid to inhabit eight hours a day, and, like Perec, I find myself writing weirdly recursive little scribbles in my notebook. Too bad they'll never be as good as Perec's.

[Ümit Mutlu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acayip eğlenceli bir Perec yaratısı daha. Ve-veya-ise-ancakveancaklarla örülmüş komplike ve matrak bir düzenek. Harika taşlamalar.

Ayrıca basite indirgemek için böyle yazdım çünkü her zaman basite indirgemek gerekir.

[Myriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pérec nous offre un mode d'emploi pour demander une augmentation à son chef. On est entre la maison des fous des 12 Travaux d'Astérix. C'est la traduction linéaire d'un organigramme des complexes qui tient pourtant, lui, en une page, une retranscription foutraque, obsessionnelle, hilarante, inquiétante, de toutes les possibilités qui pourraient advenir le jour où l'on se décidera à prendre son courage à deux mains pour aller voir son chef de service afin de lui demander une augmentation. Tentative de tout dire en même temps, ce que justement ne saurait faire la littérature. Tentative épuisante d'épuisement du réel, en une seule et longue phrase sans ponctuation, sans fin, sans bords.
In fine, on suit les méandres de cette demande avec un plaisir non dissimulé!
https://ruedeprovence.files.wordpress...

[Pablo López Astudillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo leí sumado a "El aumento". Conclusión: Perec estaba loquísimo.

[jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

french experimental writer and oulipo member georges perec was commissioned in the late 1960s to "use a computer's basic mode of operation as a writing device." writing within a self-imposed set of constraints aimed at mimicking a computer's internal decision-making process, perec crafted a short work that "simulate[d] the speed and tireless repetitiveness of a computer program by abandoning all forms of punctuation as well as the distinction between upper- and lower-case letters." the result, the art and craft of approaching your head of department to submit a request for a raise, was then published in an academic review. in the early 1970s, the piece was adapted for both french and german stages and later reworked for a chapter in his 1978 novel, life: a user's manual (la vie mode d'emploi). the original work, now translated into english by david bellos, however, has remained all but forgotten for nearly four decades.

the art and craft of approaching your head of department to submit a request for a raise (appearing on the dust jacket as the art of asking your boss for a raise despite finding its full name on the title page), is unique, curious, and well-crafted. perec obviously admired the challenge of his assignment, as he turned out a piece that, while robotic in style, is still infused with character and humor. the absurdity that one must often endure in asking your boss for a raise is one perec must have been familiar with, as he accurately captured the anxiety, dread, and uncertainty that accompanies such a brave request. lacking all punctuation (and, thus, sentence, paragraph, and chapter breaks), the story exudes a simple charm, perhaps derived from the fact that the form seems remarkably well-suited to the content. the repetitive prose that marks the work never becomes tiresome, as this, too, resembles so much of the utter redundancy of many modern workplaces. an attempt at experimental fiction such as this one may have failed in lesser hands, but perec was able to ensure its success, very much turning something artificial and detached into something animate and interesting. a strange allure persists following a reading of this book, and it may well be on account of its second-person narrative (for surely everyone dreams of soliciting their boss for greater pay).

verso's english edition of the art and craft of approaching your head of department to submit a request for a raise is a small, yet beautiful one. the endpapers feature a flow-chart designed by jacques perriaud, originator of the idea to compose a book utilizing the rules of computing. perec used this chart in writing the text, as it provides the basic, repetitive structure found within.

remember that if mr x is not in his office when you go to ask for an appointment you can always wait for him by walking up and down in the corridor or if he is running late by schmoozing with ms wye if in fact she is in her office and a good mood or else by circumperambulating the various departments which taken together constitute the whole or part of the consortium which pays you a pittance while grinding away the best years of your life

[Ed Erwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translator himself has this to say:

Translating a text which is close to being unreadable in the original is a paradoxical but not a particularly difficult task, since ordinary readability is hardly an issue.

He protests too much. This is certainly more readable that much of Gertrude Stein, who also used a great deal of repetition, and is more enjoyable than many of Perec's other works, in part because it is brief.

The concept was to write a story based on the way a computer "thinks", so the story follows a flowchart through branching paths and loops. The flowchart is printed in my edition. The repetition itself is somewhat funny, but it is made even more funny by small deviations here and there from strict repetition. This could be really funny in audiobook format, and Perec did in fact create a stage version which was enjoyed by fans of Ionesco.

The American edition inexplicably shortens the title to "The art of asking your boss for a raise." The longer original title gives a better feel for what this book is like. (Also, the title should be, like the text, completely in lower case, but I'm not going to battle the GR librarians over that.)

Fun, but not essential. I'd rather take another spin through the somewhat similar absurdist game "The Stanley Parable" instead.

[Mateo R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genial, muy gracioso y pesadillesco al mismo tiempo.

Intertextualidad

Menciones directas:
* Mención a los personajes Charlie Brown y Lucy van Pelt de la historieta Peanuts (1950-2000) de Charles M. Schulz.
* Mención a los autores:
-Eugène Ionesco (Rumania/Francia, s. XX)
-François-René de Chateaubriand (Francia, s. XVIII-XIX)
-Roland Bacri (Francia, s. XX)

Indirecta:
* Según afirma Bernard Magné en el Postfacio de mi edición, Perec se inspiró en un organigrama que le proporcionó Jacques Perriault en octubre de 1968, titulado "El arte y la manera de abordar a su jefe de sector". Perec utilizó el organigrama como una constricción generadora (una restricción para abordar la creación de un texto), siguiendo los pasos de Raymond Queneau en su texto "Un cuento a su manera" (1967), todo esto en el contexto de las reuniones del Oulipo que en aquellos tiempos trabajaba en torno a la literatura combinatoria y a la literatura arbórea.
* Hay aquí algún rastro de la pesadilla burocrática que es El proceso (1925) de Franz Kafka.

[Agnieszka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have reviewed it earlier.It missed the boat now.I can only write a postscritum to non-existent review.
********************************************************
It’s useless. All these clever tricks, the whole elaborate plan to entrap my boss in purpose asking him for a pay raise.It now went down the drains.

My firm has declared bankruptcy. Farewell boss,farewell job ,farewell salary increase.In fact farewell salary .

[Mohit Parikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perec is wicked.

[Kurtlu · Rating 4 out of 5]

perec'in yazılarında ironi ve imajinasyon kendiliğinden geliyor; fırsat olsa tiyatro uyarlamasını izlemek isterdim.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you either love or hate. I thought it was hilarious from start to finish.

Somehow I came across this on Audible in French (vous bougez, vous lisez!) Quelle chance!

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddening/charming programatic loop variations on office ennui and despair.

[Chuck LoPresti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literary sneeze, a good sneeze - the kind that opens your sinuses and snaps you back into a clearer present reality that serves as Perec’s instructions to write as computer is what’s offered here. I've read that Jarry spoke in an affected rhythmic and metallic voice and it's this voice that resonated in my head through the two long breaths that I needed to read this delightful little book. Despite the fact that you'll be served a single long sentence void of punctuation - this is a very easy and very enjoyable book. I will heretofore be referring to my paycheck as my pecuniary emolument. It’s easy to compare such stream of unconsciousness as post-Rabelaisian merrymaking but more so than easy it’s accurate. If Rabelais were to alight from his lofty perch in literary history, sit down smelling of wine at my desk and let me introduce him to a 1982 Apple II+ I’d have him insert the boot disc and give him enough basic instruction to start listing drinking toasts he would eventually have produced this book before Perec had any need to do so himself. I’m not sure any other thing I’ve read does such an effective job of documenting the trundled thoughts of contemporary office work. Where lesser minds might have documented an epic thermostat war or possibly a pot-luck gone bad – Perec sets his mind on squeezing more cash out of the boss. This could make great theater in the right hands. There is an obvious chain of thought that runs from Rabelais to Jarry to Oulipo in general and I’m enjoying reading every second of it.

[João Reis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ayant mûrement réfléchi ayant pris votre courage à deux mains vous vous décidez à aller trouver votre ami pour lui demander la dévolution de votre livre vous allez donc trouver votre ami disons pour simplifier car il faut toujours simplifier que l’auteur du livre s’appelle monsieur perec c’est-à-dire monsieur ou plutôt mr p donc vous allez trouver votre ami pour lui demander la dévolution du livre écrit par mr p là de deux choses l’une ou bien le livre de mr p est chez votre ami ou bien le livre de mr p n’est pas chez votre ami si le livre de mr p était chez lui il n’y aurait apparemment pas de problème mais évidemment le livre de mr p n’est pas chez votre ami vous n’avez donc guère qu’une chose à faire guetter chez lui son dévolution mais supposons pas que votre ami ne vous le retournez pas en ce cas il finirait par n’y avoir plus qu’une seule solution retourner dans votre propre maison et attendre l’après-midi ou le lendemain pour recommencer votre tentative car vous avez besoin à lire ce livre magnifique et amusant écrit par mr p c’est un livre ingénieux en plus il a beaucoup de remarques critiques sur le capitalisme donc il vous tarde de lire ce livre oui c’est indispensable.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Georges Perec is a writer who likes to play. He is also a writer that for one to enjoy has to be willing to go on the drive with him, and he is for sure the driver. Remarkable on many fronts, this book has super anxiety attached to it. The fear of asking money from your boss or head of your station at work is sweat stained existence for many. And Perec plays on those fears in a very playful way. "Everything needs to be simple" is a thought that runs through out this small book, but simple is often either complex or opens up other issues. Maybe way too many issues!

Especially when one is planning "how" to approach the boss in asking for a raise. What will happen if he is not there at the time, or he's on the phone or..... The "or" is the part that can drive one mad, and Perec captures the irrationality that is basically in the workforce. But then therefore does that mean it only exists in the workforce?

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book written in the form of a computer program: if/then propositions and yes/no statements. A highly recursive narrative that nonetheless tells a story: an employee who spends his entire career trying to get a raise. Imagine Kafka meeting the Marx Brothers and you have a sense of the book's level of absurdity. By taking a simple action--walking into a boss's office to ask for a raise--and breaking it down into its component elements and all of the possible outcomes of each element, Perec has created a type of Zeno's paradox--the arrow that can never reach its target because its trajectory is marked by the infinitely ever-diminishing distances it must traverse.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all in one breath no pauses no commas. Gulp the whole book in one go. Overthinking leads to paralysis paradox, as we enter the tormented mind of the main protagonist, to uumms-ahhhs back-forthing with every possible possibilities and potential outcomes.

▪️circumambulate: walk all the way around (something) especially ceremoniously
▪️rubicon: to do something that you cannot later change and will strongly influence future events
“crossing the rubicon” = pass the point of no return
▪️exploitee = employee
▪️exploiter = employer

[Khitkhite Buri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really needed this short 'anti-work' text today.

You'd think this was about bureaucracy or wage labour but it's social, and it's th anxiety of being social and since everything tends towards the buying and selling of commodities such as labour you spend your time 'circumperambulating the various departments which taken together constitute the whole or part of the consortium which pays you a pittance while grinding away the best years of your life'.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

An experiment in writing what is basically a flowchart diagram, sending the reader in loop after loop as they are instructed to ask their boss for a raise. An interesting idea, but I found it extremely boring to read - the odd bit of humour related to capitalism grinding down the office worker fit nicely, but otherwise just a quick read with no punctuation involved.