Last Days
Raymond Queneau author R Queneau author Barbara Wright translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Dalkey Archive Press
Published:19th Sep '96
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The Last Days is Raymond Queneau's autobiographical novel of Parisian student life in the 1920s: Vincent Tuquedenne tries to reconcile his love for reading with the sterility of studying as he hopes to study his way out of the petite bourgeoisie to which he belongs. Vincent and his generation are contrasted with an older generation of retired teachers and petty crooks, and both generations come under the bemused gaze of the waiter Alfred, whose infallible method of predicting the future mocks prevailing scientific models. Similarly, Queneau's literary universe operates under its own laws, joining rigorous artistry with a warm evocation of the last days of a bygone world.
"The most important thing to say about The Last Days is that it works. Erudition is seldom welcome at the gates of satire, but the late Raymond Queneau's autobiographical novel of Parisian student life in the 1920s is profound, complex and instantly likable. It is also very, very funny." -- Octavio Roca, Washington Times "A witty novel that is a witness both to Queneau's marvelous sense of humor and his capacity for self-examination." -- Choice "Dazzling in its wordplay." -- Kirkus Reviews
ISBN: 9781564781406
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 362g
250 pages
2nd ed.