There's a lot of good to be said about publishing, mainly about the food. The books, though - Robert Dubois feels as if he's read the books, but still they keep coming back to him, the same old books just by new authors. Maybe he's ready to settle into the end of his career, like it's a tipsy afternoon after a working lunch. But then he is confronted with a gift: a piece of technology, a gizmo, a reader... Dear Reader takes a wry, affectionate look at the world of publishing, books and authors, and is a very funny, moving story about the passing of the old and the excitement of the new.
"Dear Reader is an enjoyable novel on several levels, from straightforward publishing-industry story, to a more personal story of time going by and loss, to the sheer technical virtuosity on display -- both Fournel's and translator Bellos'... Dear Reader is a good example of why the Oulipian method isn't merely a game, but rather a surprisingly fertile approach to writing." - M.A. Orthofer, The Complete Review "Poetic, satirical and delicate: here is a novel in urgent need of reading." - L'Express
"All about the intense and carnal pleasures of reading." - Telerama
"Delightfully satirical... [the] ultimate celebration of printed books." - Le Monde
Paul Fournel was born in 1947. He worked as a publisher with Ramsay & Seghers, and chaired the Société des gens de lettres. He was head of the Alliance Française in San Francisco, and a cultural attaché in Cairo and London. He now writes full time and cycles during the rest of the day. As a third full-time job, he is the Provisionally Definitive Secretary and President of the literary collective known as Oulipo, whose members have included George Perec and Italo Calvino among many others. He is also the author of numerous novels, short stories, plays, memoirs, and poetry. Translated from the French by David Bellos.
There's a lot of good to be said about publishing, mainly about the food. The books, though - Robert Dubois feels as if he's read the books, but still they keep coming back to him, the same old books just by new authors. Maybe he's ready to settle into the end of his career, like it's a tipsy afternoon after a working lunch. But then he is confronted with a gift: a piece of technology, a gizmo, a reader... Dear Reader takes a wry, affectionate look at the world of publishing, books and authors, and is a very funny, moving story about the passing of the old and the excitement of the new.
Reviews
"Dear Reader is an enjoyable novel on several levels, from straightforward publishing-industry story, to a more personal story of time going by and loss, to the sheer technical virtuosity on display -- both Fournel's and translator Bellos'... Dear Reader is a good example of why the Oulipian method isn't merely a game, but rather a surprisingly fertile approach to writing." - M.A. Orthofer, The Complete Review "Poetic, satirical and delicate: here is a novel in urgent need of reading." - L'Express
"All about the intense and carnal pleasures of reading." - Telerama
"Delightfully satirical... [the] ultimate celebration of printed books." - Le Monde
Author
Paul Fournel was born in 1947. He worked as a publisher with Ramsay & Seghers, and chaired the Société des gens de lettres. He was head of the Alliance Française in San Francisco, and a cultural attaché in Cairo and London. He now writes full time and cycles during the rest of the day. As a third full-time job, he is the Provisionally Definitive Secretary and President of the literary collective known as Oulipo, whose members have included George Perec and Italo Calvino among many others. He is also the author of numerous novels, short stories, plays, memoirs, and poetry. Translated from the French by David Bellos.
