The Last Days - by Raymond Queneau (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Last Days circles two groups of friends in Paris' Latin Quarter in the 1920s: the first, a group of students with a Queneau stand-in, Vincent Tuquedenne, at its center; and the second, their older generation of teachers. The students reconcile their love for reading with the sterility of scholarship, while the teachers, approaching retirement, look back on their lives with a mixture of acceptance and regret. These disparate groups come under the bemused gaze of Alfred, the waiter at the cafe both circles frequent, whose infallible method of predicting the future mocks prevailing scientific models. A renowned figure of French publishing and member of the Oulipo, Queneau's literary universe operates under its own laws, joining rigorous artistry with a warm evocation of the last days of a bygone world.

About the Author

Barbara Wright is one of the premier English translators of modern French literature. In addition to Raymond Queneau, she has also translated such authors as Alfred Jarry, Nathalie Sarraute, Pierre Albert-Birot, and Patrick Modiano.