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A puzzling mystery and the last, unfinished work by Georges Perec-a writer Italo Calvino called, "One of the most singular literary personalities in the world." The narrator, a teacher in a tropical French colony, is trying to track down the famous crime-writer Robert Serval, who has mysteriously disappeared. Serval has left behind the manuscript of his last, unfinished novel, which may contain clues to his fate.
Before his death, Perec completed 11 of a planned 28 chapters but left extensive drafts and notes for his friends and frequent collaborators, Harry Mathews and Jacques Roubaud. The two assembled the unfinished mystery and, through notes, provide a fascinating view into the author's mind as he fashioned his literary labyrinth of mirror-stories.
Über den Autor / die Autorin
Georges Perec was a French essayist, novelist, memoirist, and filmmaker. Born in Paris in 1936, the child of Polish Jews, his father died as soldier in the Second World War and his mother was killed in the Holocaust. Much of his work dealt with themes of identity, loss, absence-including his most celebrated work,
Life A User's Manual.
In addition to being honored by the
Prix Renaudot (1965), the
Prix Jean Vigo (1974), the
Prix Médicis (1978), and the French postal service (2002), both an asteroid and a street in Paris were named in his honor-as well as a Google Doodle on his 80th birthday.
