{"product_id":"w-or-the-memory-of-childhood-9781567921588","title":"W, or the Memory of Childhood","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eLife A User's Manual\u003c\/i\u003e comes an equally mind-bending novel: an interpretive vision of the Holocaust and a dystopian world.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eW or The Memory of Childhood\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is a narrative that reflects a great writer's effort to come to terms with his childhood during the Nazi occupation of France. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePerec tells two parallel stories. The first is autobiographical, describing his wartime boyhood. The second tale, denser, more disturbing, more horrifying, is the allegorical story of W, a mythical island off Tierra del Fuego governed by the thrall of the Olympic \"ideal,\" where losers are tortured and winners held in temporary idolatry. As the reader soon discovers, W is a place where \"it is more important to be lucky than to be deserving,\" and \"you have to fight to live...no recourse, no mercy, no salvation, not even any hope that time will sort things out.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePerec's memory of the Holocaust and vision about its meaning has resulted in an astonishing achievement that stands with the best of his work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePerec, Georges:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeorges Perec\u003c\/b\u003e was a French essayist, novelist, memoirist, and filmmaker. Born in Paris in 1936, the child of Polish Jews, his father died as soldier in the Second World War and his mother was killed in the Holocaust. Much of his work dealt with themes of identity, loss, absence--including his most celebrated work, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLife A User's Manual\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e In addition to being honored by the \u003ci\u003ePrix Renaudot\u003c\/i\u003e (1965), the \u003ci\u003ePrix Jean Vigo\u003c\/i\u003e (1974), the \u003ci\u003ePrix Médicis\u003c\/i\u003e (1978), and the French postal service (2002), both an asteroid and a street in Paris were named in his honor--as well as a Google Doodle on his 80th birthday.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBellos, David:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Bellos\u003c\/b\u003e won the first Man Booker International Prize for his translations of the Albanian author, Ismail Kadare, and holds the rank of \u003ci\u003eOfficier in the Ordre national des Arts et des Lettres\u003c\/i\u003e and an honorary membership in The International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Verba Mundi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51690529030418,"sku":"9781567921588","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d9707b0c-de7b-4679-ba01-b9a9c70d079a.jpg?v=1761738409","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/w-or-the-memory-of-childhood-9781567921588","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}