Scan barcode
A review by buddhafish
Les choses by Georges Perec
4.0
12th book of 2020. This is my first Perec. The blurb states Things as:
'The story of a young couple who want to enjoy life, but the only way they know how to do so is through ownership of 'things'. Perec's first novel won the Prix Renaudot and became the cult book for a generation.'
Sounds good. I'm particularly interested in the concept of materialism, so I was sold. However, I wasn't expecting the way this book is written. Only several times does Perec mention the couples' names. I would say 80% of the sentences in this book start with 'they'. It's always they did this, they thought that, they will do this, they would do that. There are many, many, many, many list too. Lists of things. Lists of furniture, food, events. The book is very impersonal. You get to know the characters in a way, I suppose, by Perec's incessant telling of them, they like this, they don't like that, but there's no dialogue, technically no scenes either. It's a reported book, and unlike anything I've read before.
However, it isn't bad. In fact, surprisingly, it's good, considering everything I've just said sounds negative. My book copy also has his novel A Man Falls Asleep, but I've separated them on Goodreads so I can give each its own review, and so I can place both in my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die folder as they both appear, and not lumped in as one.
Just one quote today. This is both a good quote and represents the way in which it's written.
On occasions they wished everything would stay the same, not ever move. Then they would just be able to drift. Their life would keep them warm: it would stretch ahead through the months and years without - or almost without - altering, without ever hampering them. It would be but the harmonious sequence of their days and nights, the one almost imperceptibly modulating the other, a never-ending reprise of the same themes, a continuous happiness, a perpetuated enjoyment which no upset, no tragic event, no twist or turn of fate would ever bring into question.'
'The story of a young couple who want to enjoy life, but the only way they know how to do so is through ownership of 'things'. Perec's first novel won the Prix Renaudot and became the cult book for a generation.'
Sounds good. I'm particularly interested in the concept of materialism, so I was sold. However, I wasn't expecting the way this book is written. Only several times does Perec mention the couples' names. I would say 80% of the sentences in this book start with 'they'. It's always they did this, they thought that, they will do this, they would do that. There are many, many, many, many list too. Lists of things. Lists of furniture, food, events. The book is very impersonal. You get to know the characters in a way, I suppose, by Perec's incessant telling of them, they like this, they don't like that, but there's no dialogue, technically no scenes either. It's a reported book, and unlike anything I've read before.
However, it isn't bad. In fact, surprisingly, it's good, considering everything I've just said sounds negative. My book copy also has his novel A Man Falls Asleep, but I've separated them on Goodreads so I can give each its own review, and so I can place both in my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die folder as they both appear, and not lumped in as one.
Just one quote today. This is both a good quote and represents the way in which it's written.
On occasions they wished everything would stay the same, not ever move. Then they would just be able to drift. Their life would keep them warm: it would stretch ahead through the months and years without - or almost without - altering, without ever hampering them. It would be but the harmonious sequence of their days and nights, the one almost imperceptibly modulating the other, a never-ending reprise of the same themes, a continuous happiness, a perpetuated enjoyment which no upset, no tragic event, no twist or turn of fate would ever bring into question.'