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33. W, or the Memory of Childhood.
What is true, what is certain, what is immediately striking, is that W,
today, is a land where Sport is king, a nation of athletes where Sport and
life unite in a single magnificent effort. The proud motto FORTIUS ALTIUS
CITIUS emblazoned on the monumental arches at the gates of each village, the
splendid stadiums with their meticulously maintained cinder tracks, the
gigantic wall sheets which publicize the results of sporting contests hour
by hour, the celebrations held daily for the winners, the men’s dress: grey
tracksuits with an outside W emblazoned on the back, such are the sights
which greet the newly arrived visitor. From them, he will grasp with
wonderment and enthusiasm [...] that life, here, is lived for the greater
glory of the Body.
Georges Perec’s W, or the Memory of Childhood,
retells a story the author wrote as a child, of W, a far-off island where all
of life revolves around sport. But we also get, in alternate chapters, a
curious autobiography, where the author tries to recover his mostly forgotten
childhood: growing up in Paris during World War 2, losing his father in the
early fighting of that war when he 4 years old, and losing his mother soon
after, as she was taken to the concentration camps. The author assures us that
both halves are needed to tell the story, and although at first they seem
unrelated, the connections slowly pile up, to devastating effect.
It’s a curious and haunting book, and Chris and Suzanne discuss its take on a
monomaniacal approach to sport, its exploration of the slipperiness of memory
and language, and (surprisingly enough in a book with so much loss) its
profound sense of play.
Content warning: There’s a discussion of sexual violence that lasts about
two minutes; we give a heads up. Also, this was an ill-fated recording
session, so apologies for the occasionally dodgy audio.
Show Notes.
Georges Perec: W, or the Memory of Childhood.
[Bookshop.]
Other books by Perec mentioned: A Void [La
Disparation], Life A Users Manual.
Our episode on Hayy ibn Yaqzan.
Oulipo, the Ouvroir pour la litérrature
potentielle.
Perec’s
palindrome.
A newer, longer palindrome (in
English).
David Rousset: A World Apart [L’Univers
concentrationnaire].
Double or Nothing: Jewish Speech and Silence in Georges Perec’s W ou le
souvenir d’enfance.
The Absolute Originality of Georges
Perec.
Next: Dante: Purgatorio.
[Bookshop.]
If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting The Spouter-Inn on Patreon.
View all episodes
By Suzanne Conklin Akbari and Chris Piuma
4.8
3030 ratings
What is true, what is certain, what is immediately striking, is that W,
today, is a land where Sport is king, a nation of athletes where Sport and
life unite in a single magnificent effort. The proud motto FORTIUS ALTIUS
CITIUS emblazoned on the monumental arches at the gates of each village, the
splendid stadiums with their meticulously maintained cinder tracks, the
gigantic wall sheets which publicize the results of sporting contests hour
by hour, the celebrations held daily for the winners, the men’s dress: grey
tracksuits with an outside W emblazoned on the back, such are the sights
which greet the newly arrived visitor. From them, he will grasp with
wonderment and enthusiasm [...] that life, here, is lived for the greater
glory of the Body.
Georges Perec’s W, or the Memory of Childhood,
retells a story the author wrote as a child, of W, a far-off island where all
of life revolves around sport. But we also get, in alternate chapters, a
curious autobiography, where the author tries to recover his mostly forgotten
childhood: growing up in Paris during World War 2, losing his father in the
early fighting of that war when he 4 years old, and losing his mother soon
after, as she was taken to the concentration camps. The author assures us that
both halves are needed to tell the story, and although at first they seem
unrelated, the connections slowly pile up, to devastating effect.
It’s a curious and haunting book, and Chris and Suzanne discuss its take on a
monomaniacal approach to sport, its exploration of the slipperiness of memory
and language, and (surprisingly enough in a book with so much loss) its
profound sense of play.
Content warning: There’s a discussion of sexual violence that lasts about
two minutes; we give a heads up. Also, this was an ill-fated recording
session, so apologies for the occasionally dodgy audio.
Show Notes.
Georges Perec: W, or the Memory of Childhood.
[Bookshop.]
Other books by Perec mentioned: A Void [La
Disparation], Life A Users Manual.
Our episode on Hayy ibn Yaqzan.
Oulipo, the Ouvroir pour la litérrature
potentielle.
Perec’s
palindrome.
A newer, longer palindrome (in
English).
David Rousset: A World Apart [L’Univers
concentrationnaire].
Double or Nothing: Jewish Speech and Silence in Georges Perec’s W ou le
souvenir d’enfance.
The Absolute Originality of Georges
Perec.
Next: Dante: Purgatorio.
[Bookshop.]
If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, please consider supporting The Spouter-Inn on Patreon.
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