Exercises in style
London: Gaberbocchus Press, 1958. Frontispiece. 198 pp. + 1 p. ad. Yellow cloth with red titling; worn dustjacket. 18.3 x 12.1 cm. Previous owners' names neatly in ink on front flyleaf. This brilliant piece is by one of the founders of the French experimental writing group ULIPO. The preface, by translator, Barbara Wright, writes about this book, "…it's the story of a chap who gets into a bus and starts a row with another chap who he thinks keeps treading on his toes on purpose, and Queneau repeats the same story 99 times in a different ways—it's terribly good." A few of the styles are "Metaphorically," "The Rainbow," "Anagrams," "Blurb," "Exclamations," "Noble," "Cockney," "Cross-Examination," "Spectral," "Telegraphic," and "Ode." Covers bright; some discoloration of endpapers. dustjacket worn, with tears at spine but protected in transparent archival sleeve. Item #93356
Price: $75.00