Œuvres I, II by Georges Perec (review)

Georges Perec once described literature as an ever-expanding jigsaw puzzle in which each writer is connected, directly or indirectly, to a multitude of others. For the aspiring writer, there is ‘toujours une place vacante’ that he or she hopes, one day, to fill. Perec’s entry into Gallimard’s prestigious Bibliothèque de la Pléiade officially marks his place in the jigsaw puzzle of world literature. Perec’s books had a mixed reception during his lifetime. His playful passion for formal constraints meant that admiration for his virtuosity sometimes came at the expense of a ‘serious’ appreciation of his work. However, as Florence de Chalonge—a contributor to the Pléiade edition—remarks, it would be a mistake to think of Perec as a pure formalist. Indeed, since Perec’s premature death in 1982, the proliferation of books and theses on his work, along with the growing list of artists and writers citing him as an inspiration, have testified to the rich substance of his œuvre and its profound reflection on life in twentieth-century France. As the editor, Christelle Reggiani, confirms in her elegant Introduction, Perec has become ‘[un] classique moderne’ (p. ix). This edition of the author’s works brings together the key texts published during his lifetime in two golden-spined Pléiade volumes. It is an œuvre that lends itself well to compilation. Although Perec once claimed to want to write every kind of book imaginable, the diversity of his production is matched by its subtle unity. Each of his texts casts light on others and, by gathering them together, these volumes allow readers to follow the secret passageways that connect each part to the whole. But Reggiani’s edition is, above all, an invaluable reference book and critical resource. Each of Perec’s works is followed by a selection of annotated interviews, preparatory notes, drafts, and correspondence that contextualize and enrich the readers’ understanding of the final publication. Furthermore, around a quarter of each volume is given over to knowledgeable critical analysis by leading scholars. Substantial introductory essays explore each text’s history of publication, critical reception, and biographical contexts, allowing the reader to trace, over the course of the two volumes, the story of Perec’s intellectual and artistic development. These are complemented by surveys of preparatory notes, manuscripts, and other documents from the archives Perec, providing a precious resource for scholars planning to navigate the depths of the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal themselves. Finally, the second volume is rounded off with a judiciously selective general bibliography that, as Reggiani hopes, provides Perec enthusiasts with some reliable repères (to use a word Perec himself was so fond of) for future study. Although Perec’s subtle puzzles and in-jokes can give rise to a readerly monomania, this edition of his works is as accessible and practical as it is erudite, making it an indispensable source not only for Perec enthusiasts but for any scholar of twentieth-century French literature.