Perec’s W or The Memory of Childhood

Hey everyone!

This week I will be reflecting on my reading of Georges Perec’s novel, W or The Memory of Childhood. Overall, I found this novel fairly challenging to keep up with, yet extremely enjoyable. Although there were times where having to process both storylines at the same time felt quite overwhelming and confusing, it was also the structure of the novel itself that I found really captivating. I’m not sure I would go as far to say it has been my favourite text in the class so far, but it is most definitely up there!

Right away, I found the title to be very intriguing. I was thrown off at first, wondering if they were two different titles –because of the ‘or’– or if it was just supposed to be seen as one title. As in, were the ‘W’ and “The Memory of Childhood”  meant to be viewed continuously, or were they supposed to be interpreted separately. Once I started reading the book, I realized that the title being presented in this way actually parallels the two separate yet complementary narratives that take place in this novel. Moreover, the image on the front cover (the two V V in different colours, one red and the other grey, overlapping to form a W) also mirrors this same unique and innovative way of storytelling (I’m not sure if everyone had the same title page/if this was the original, but it is the one I had!). In a way, the title was giving us, the readers, a clue for what was to come.  In general, I love coming across these small/’otherwise would go unnoticed’ aspects of a novel (or anything really, be it a movie, play or even random street art). I find that it’s almost always the little things that hold so much meaning. Also, the feeling you get in that exact moment when you notice these small details is unmatchable.

As for the content of the text itself, I especially felt drawn to how Perec explored the themes of memory and reflection throughout the novel. Specifically, when reading the parts where Perec struggled to remember his childhood made me really sad. I felt sorry for him as well as the countless other children who grew up in/are growing up in such unsafe and dangerous environments. Having learnt about PTSD in my abnormal psychology unit in high school, I remember we looked at case studies of individuals who fought in the war as well as those who grew up during those times and how common it is for one to forget and block out the memories they formed during that time. This is why I found it quite interesting reading this narrative and viewing how the text explored the act of reflecting on memories that one couldn’t remember.

With a structure as such, I’m curious to know whether anyone had a preference for one storyline or the other. So for the question of this post, I would like to know which narrative you preferred? Was there one that seemed more entertaining/intriguing to you? For me, although I think they were both really well written and captivating, I personally felt more drawn to the autobiographical narrative.

: )