446. Exercises in Style

Exercises in Style
Raymond Queneau
1947
Around 205 pages

Well, after that last entry, this one seems a little silly and inappropriate, which I guess is how life works even in 1947. Also, I learned about a new subculture in France during the time: the zazous. The zazous liked to wear garish clothing, dance wildly to swing music, and carry umbrellas. I guess they needed to express themselves, I'm just not entirely sure what the statement is.

Queneau tells the same story 99 times in a row, each in a different style. So this has the feel of an undergrad writing assignment meets Shel Silverstein. As the purpose of this piece seems to be to play with language, much is lost in translation when you're not reading the French version.

This felt like the literary equivalent of an etude, so it's interesting from a technical perspective but lacks soul. Now I'm spoiled from Levi.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Has been translated in over 30 languages.

UP NEXT: The Victim by Saul Bellow