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A Void

January 01, 1970

For other uses, see Void (disambiguation).

A Void, translated from the original French La Disparition (lit. "The Disappearance"), is a 300-page French lipogrammatic novel, written in 1969 by Georges Perec, entirely without using the letter e, following Oulipo constraints. Perec would go on to write with the inverse constraint in Les Revenentes, with only the vowel “e” present in the work. Ian Monk would later translate Les Revenentes into English under the title The Exeter Text.

A Void
Cover of the English translation of La Disparition
AuthorGeorges Perec
Original titleLa Disparition
TranslatorGilbert Adair
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Publisher
Publication date
1969
Published in English
1995
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages290 pp (Eng. trans. Hardcover)
ISBN0-00-271119-2 (Eng. trans. Hardcover)
OCLC31434932

Translations edit

It was translated into English by Gilbert Adair, with the title A Void, for which he won the Scott Moncrieff Prize in 1995.[1] Three other English translations are titled A Vanishing by Ian Monk,[2] Vanish'd! by John Lee,[3] and Omissions by Julian West.[4]

All translators have imposed upon themselves a similar lipogrammatic constraint to the original, avoiding the most commonly used letter of the alphabet. This precludes the use of words normally considered essential such as je ("I"), et ("and"), and le (masculine "the") in French, as well as "me", "be", and "the" in English. The Spanish version contains no a, which is the second most commonly used letter in the Spanish language (first being e), while the Russian version contains no о. The Japanese version does not use syllables containing the sound "i" (い, き, し, etc.) at all.

Other languages translations
Language Author Title Year
German Eugen Helmlé Anton Voyls Fortgang 1986
Italian Piero Falchetta La scomparsa 1995
Spanish Hermes Salceda El secuestro 1997
Swedish Sture Pyk Försvinna 2000
Russian Ales Astashonok-Zhgirovsky Исчезновение [Ischeznovenie] 2001
Russian Valeriy Kislov Исчезание [Ischezanie] 2005
Turkish Cemal Yardımcı Kayboluş 2006
Dutch Guido van de Wiel 't Manco 2009
Romanian Serban Foarta Disparitia 2010
Japanese Shuichiro Shiotsuka 煙滅 [Emmetsu] 2010
Croatian Vanda Mikšić Ispario 2012
Portuguese José Roberto "Zéfere" Andrades Féres O Sumiço 2016
Catalan Adrià Pujol Cruells L'eclipsi 2017
Polish René Koelblen and Stanisław Waszak Zniknięcia 2022
Finnish Ville Keynäs Häviäminen 2023

Plot summary edit

A Void's plot follows a group of individuals looking for a missing companion, Anton Vowl. It is in part a parody of noir and horror fiction, with many stylistic tricks, gags, plot twists, and a grim conclusion. On many occasions it implicitly talks about its own lipogrammatic limitation, highlighting its unusual syntax. A Void's protagonists finally work out which symbol is missing, but find it a hazardous topic to discuss, as any who try to bypass this story's constraint risk fatal injury. Philip Howard, writing a lipogrammatic appraisal of A Void in his column Lost Words, said "This is a story chock-full of plots and sub-plots, of loops within loops, of trails in pursuit of trails, all of which allow its author an opportunity to display his customary virtuosity as an avant-gardist magician, acrobat and clown."

Major themes edit

Both of Georges Perec's parents perished in World War II: his father as a soldier and his mother in the Holocaust. He was brought up by his aunt and uncle after surviving the war. Warren Motte interprets the absence of the letter e in the book as a metaphor for Perec's own sense of loss and incompleteness:[5]

The absence of a sign is always the sign of an absence, and the absence of the E in A Void announces a broader, cannily coded discourse on loss, catastrophe, and mourning. Perec cannot say the words père ["father"], mère ["mother"], parents ["parents"], famille ["family"] in his novel, nor can he write the name Georges Perec. In short, each "void" in the novel is abundantly furnished with meaning, and each points toward the existential void that Perec grappled with throughout his youth and early adulthood. A strange and compelling parable of survival becomes apparent in the novel, too, if one is willing to reflect on the struggles of a Holocaust orphan trying to make sense out of absence, and those of a young writer who has chosen to do without the letter that is the beginning and end of écriture ["writing"].

Versions edit

  • Georges Perec (1969). La disparition. Gallimard. ISBN 2-07-071523-X.
  • Georges Perec (1994). A Void (paperback). Translated by Gilbert Adair. The Harvill Press. ISBN 1-86046-098-4.
  • Georges Perec (1994). A Void (hardcover). Translated by Gilbert Adair. The Harvill Press. ISBN 0-00-271119-2.
  • Georges Perec (1991). Anton Voyls Fortgang. Translated by Eugen Helmlé. ISBN 3-499-12857-8.
  • Georges Perec (April 2013). Kayboluş. Translated by Cemal Yardımcı. ISBN 978-975-539-472-5.
  • Georges Perec (2009). 't Manco. Translated by Guido van de Wiel. De Arbeiderspers. ISBN 978-90-295-6766-4.
  • Georges Perec (1997). El secuestro. Anagrama. ISBN 978-84-339-0836-0.
  • Georges Perec (2004). Istchezanie. Translated by Valéry Kislov. Ivan Limbakh. ISBN 978-5-89059-060-2.
  • Georges Perec (2005). A Void (paperback). Translated by Gilbert Adair. David R. Godine. ISBN 978-1-56792-296-7.
  • Georges Perec (2022). Zniknięcia (paperback). Translated by René Koelblen and Stanisław Waszak. Lokator. ISBN 978-83-63056-88-9.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ . Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  2. ^ Levin Becker, Daniel (2012). Many subtle channels : in praise of potential literature. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-06962-6. OCLC 794004240.
  3. ^ Bensimon, Paul; français, Centre de recherches en traduction et stylistique comparée de l'anglais et du (1995). La lecture du texte traduit (in French). Presses Sorbonne Nouvelle. ISBN 978-2-87854-098-7.
  4. ^ Esme Winter-Froemel; Angelika Zirker, eds. (2015). Enjeux du jeu de mots : Perspectives linguistiques et littéraires. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-040834-8. OCLC 1013955053.
  5. ^ "Reading Georges Perec". Context (11). Dalkey Archive Press. Retrieved July 28, 2014.

External links edit

  • Bibliography of secondary works on La Disparition
  • Brief excerpt from the Adair translation
  • Preface in French
  • Review by Danny Yee
  • about translation in Russian
  • Collection of book covers for translations of La Disparition

January 01, 1970
void, other, uses, void, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sc. For other uses see Void disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources A Void news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message A Void translated from the original French La Disparition lit The Disappearance is a 300 page French lipogrammatic novel written in 1969 by Georges Perec entirely without using the letter e following Oulipo constraints Perec would go on to write with the inverse constraint in Les Revenentes with only the vowel e present in the work Ian Monk would later translate Les Revenentes into English under the title The Exeter Text A VoidCover of the English translation of La DisparitionAuthorGeorges PerecOriginal titleLa DisparitionTranslatorGilbert AdairCountryFranceLanguageFrenchPublisherGallimard orig The Harvill Press Eng trans Publication date1969Published in English1995Media typePrint Hardcover Paperback Pages290 pp Eng trans Hardcover ISBN0 00 271119 2 Eng trans Hardcover OCLC31434932 Contents 1 Translations 2 Plot summary 3 Major themes 4 Versions 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksTranslations editIt was translated into English by Gilbert Adair with the title A Void for which he won the Scott Moncrieff Prize in 1995 1 Three other English translations are titled A Vanishing by Ian Monk 2 Vanish d by John Lee 3 and Omissions by Julian West 4 All translators have imposed upon themselves a similar lipogrammatic constraint to the original avoiding the most commonly used letter of the alphabet This precludes the use of words normally considered essential such as je I et and and le masculine the in French as well as me be and the in English The Spanish version contains no a which is the second most commonly used letter in the Spanish language first being e while the Russian version contains no o The Japanese version does not use syllables containing the sound i い き し etc at all Other languages translations Language Author Title Year German Eugen Helmle Anton Voyls Fortgang 1986 Italian Piero Falchetta La scomparsa 1995 Spanish Hermes Salceda El secuestro 1997 Swedish Sture Pyk Forsvinna 2000 Russian Ales Astashonok Zhgirovsky Ischeznovenie Ischeznovenie 2001 Russian Valeriy Kislov Ischezanie Ischezanie 2005 Turkish Cemal Yardimci Kaybolus 2006 Dutch Guido van de Wiel t Manco 2009 Romanian Serban Foarta Disparitia 2010 Japanese Shuichiro Shiotsuka 煙滅 Emmetsu 2010 Croatian Vanda Miksic Ispario 2012 Portuguese Jose Roberto Zefere Andrades Feres O Sumico 2016 Catalan Adria Pujol Cruells L eclipsi 2017 Polish Rene Koelblen and Stanislaw Waszak Znikniecia 2022 Finnish Ville Keynas Haviaminen 2023Plot summary editA Void s plot follows a group of individuals looking for a missing companion Anton Vowl It is in part a parody of noir and horror fiction with many stylistic tricks gags plot twists and a grim conclusion On many occasions it implicitly talks about its own lipogrammatic limitation highlighting its unusual syntax A Void s protagonists finally work out which symbol is missing but find it a hazardous topic to discuss as any who try to bypass this story s constraint risk fatal injury Philip Howard writing a lipogrammatic appraisal of A Void in his column Lost Words said This is a story chock full of plots and sub plots of loops within loops of trails in pursuit of trails all of which allow its author an opportunity to display his customary virtuosity as an avant gardist magician acrobat and clown Major themes editBoth of Georges Perec s parents perished in World War II his father as a soldier and his mother in the Holocaust He was brought up by his aunt and uncle after surviving the war Warren Motte interprets the absence of the letter e in the book as a metaphor for Perec s own sense of loss and incompleteness 5 The absence of a sign is always the sign of an absence and the absence of the E in A Void announces a broader cannily coded discourse on loss catastrophe and mourning Perec cannot say the words pere father mere mother parents parents famille family in his novel nor can he write the name Georges Perec In short each void in the novel is abundantly furnished with meaning and each points toward the existential void that Perec grappled with throughout his youth and early adulthood A strange and compelling parable of survival becomes apparent in the novel too if one is willing to reflect on the struggles of a Holocaust orphan trying to make sense out of absence and those of a young writer who has chosen to do without the letter that is the beginning and end of ecriture writing Versions editGeorges Perec 1969 La disparition Gallimard ISBN 2 07 071523 X Georges Perec 1994 A Void paperback Translated by Gilbert Adair The Harvill Press ISBN 1 86046 098 4 Georges Perec 1994 A Void hardcover Translated by Gilbert Adair The Harvill Press ISBN 0 00 271119 2 Georges Perec 1991 Anton Voyls Fortgang Translated by Eugen Helmle ISBN 3 499 12857 8 Georges Perec April 2013 Kaybolus Translated by Cemal Yardimci ISBN 978 975 539 472 5 Georges Perec 2009 t Manco Translated by Guido van de Wiel De Arbeiderspers ISBN 978 90 295 6766 4 Georges Perec 1997 El secuestro Anagrama ISBN 978 84 339 0836 0 Georges Perec 2004 Istchezanie Translated by Valery Kislov Ivan Limbakh ISBN 978 5 89059 060 2 Georges Perec 2005 A Void paperback Translated by Gilbert Adair David R Godine ISBN 978 1 56792 296 7 Georges Perec 2022 Znikniecia paperback Translated by Rene Koelblen and Stanislaw Waszak Lokator ISBN 978 83 63056 88 9 See also edit nbsp Novels portal Gadsby another novel without the letter e Le Train de Nulle Part a novel without any verbsReferences edit List of prize winners at the Society of Authors website Archived from the original on 5 November 2013 Retrieved 4 August 2012 Levin Becker Daniel 2012 Many subtle channels in praise of potential literature Cambridge Mass Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 674 06962 6 OCLC 794004240 Bensimon Paul francais Centre de recherches en traduction et stylistique comparee de l anglais et du 1995 La lecture du texte traduit in French Presses Sorbonne Nouvelle ISBN 978 2 87854 098 7 Esme Winter Froemel Angelika Zirker eds 2015 Enjeux du jeu de mots Perspectives linguistiques et litteraires Berlin Boston De Gruyter ISBN 978 3 11 040834 8 OCLC 1013955053 Reading Georges Perec Context 11 Dalkey Archive Press Retrieved July 28 2014 External links editBibliography of secondary works on La Disparition Brief excerpt from the Adair translation Preface in French Review by Danny Yee News about the Turkish translation https web archive org web 20130124122327 http magazines russ ru nlo 2010 106 about translation in Russian Collection of book covers for translations of La Disparition Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A Void amp oldid 1219909496, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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