Perec on film

One of my all-time favorite writers, Georges Perec, co-created a stunning film version of his novel Un Homme Qui Dort back in 1974. It's the subject of today's Tuesday Morning Foreign Region DVD Report, over at The Auteur's Notebook. 

Comments

[bill]

I have yet to read Perec, but I have "A Void" and "Life: A User's Manual" on my shelf. Is one of those a better place to start than the other?

[Glenn Kenny]

I'd start with "Life," which was my first, and hooked me but good. Among a great many other things, it's just spectacularly entertaining. The tough thing about "A Void" is that, given its formal restriction (no "e"s), Gilbert Adair had to pretty much rewrite it, as opposed to merely translate. It's still awesome. I also highly recommend "W, or The Memory of Childhood," which is staggeringly ingenious and utterly heartbreaking.

[Ryland Walker Knight]

I think _Species of Spaces_ is the fucking realness. "The Street"... YES! Gotta see this film at some point.

[bill]

Glenn - Yeah, I'd wondered about "A Void": it must be an ingenious piece of translation, but, truthfully, what can be left of Perec's writing by the end?

I'd been put off by "Life"'s length, but I'm in a pretty good rhythm at the moment, as far as reading goes, so I may have to give it a try before I hit the inevitable wall.

Oh, and I'm about halfway through "Revolutionary Road". Really impressed so far.

[jake]

It's really funny how much Perec looks like Frodo Baggins.