Exercises in style

A simple incident, written by Raymond Queneau in two passages, then rewrited ninety-nine times, in different styles, experiencing the capabilities of the French language to the last drop. It is a dangerous book, printed, and reprinted many times, translated into many languages, and its possibilities have not been exhausted yet. And if we said it is a dangerous book, then that is due to its cunning play on the strings of freedom and restriction, for it restricts the translator by forcing him to confront the French language with all its stylistic particularities, playful possibilities, and linguistic uniqueness; it also grants the translator the freedom to move within his own linguistic record, trying to subject his translated language to the same play, violence, gentleness, and flattery that the original language was subjected to. If not, we say that the text is originally translations, meaning Queneau wrote a text, then translated it ninety-eight times within the French language, and therefore the translator must follow the author in exploiting all the space that his language grants him, and all the possibilities that translation promises. Author: Raymond Queneau Publication date: 2024 Publisher: Wasm Publications Number of pages: 130