Week Eight: The Relation Between Truth and Fiction in Perec’s “W, or The Memory of Childhood”
by samuel wallace
“W, or The Memory of Childhood” by Georges Perec is a unique tale, for it really presents two intertwined. Half autobiography, half boyhood fantasy, the author utilizes this interesting dynamic as a kind of symbiotic storytelling—as without one, the other cannot exist. In this he reveals the importance of imagination for the development of the artist; and in a sense, the story is a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story for the artist. By romanticizing his life, the author shows how the artist survives through the mundane and conflicts alike. Although the autobiographical events read intriguing for their truthfulness, the contradictions spice up the dry writing by adding an element of ambiguity. Unclear are the order of events, or the truthfulness of its narrator; what is focused on, above all, is entertaining the reader. It is in this way the role of the artist in society is outlined.
On page 13, this inherent urge to exaggerate is confessed by the author. “My two earliest memories are not entirely implausible,” he states, “even though, obviously, the many variations and imaginary details I have added […] have altered them greatly, if not completely distorted them.” There is no attempt to hide his blatant untruthfulness. This reveals more about the author than any recorded experience might capture. That, through insecurity, he buries his truth, hides behind the spectacle of fictitious embellishment. In a sense, this is the first stage of artistic development: the instinct to emulate one’s heroes, to see what works, instead of becoming one’s own, and thereby discarding those real experiences which sell for their thoughtfulness.
Just as the attributes of the artist are highlighted, so too is childhood used as a means to channel them. “W” is a story written by the protagonist as a child. Owing to a vague memory, the story is just as much a story about childhood as it is a reflection of his own. On page 6, the narrator shares this phenomenon: “I suddenly remembered that this story was called W and that it was, in a way, if not the story of my childhood, then at least a story of my childhood.” A blurring of the lines between story and experience runs in tandem with the structure of the novel. There is a postmodern element to offering an analysis of a story within the story; and even here, one cannot be sure that the former is truth or fiction.
By its conclusion, the work left me pondering the question of whether the stories we tell reflect our lives, or if lived experiences reflect the stories.
There are many interesting points in your post. For me, I read it mostly trying to figure it out, but if I read it a second time I would read it more like a stream of consciousness, but someone else might read it a different way. I think it depends on the person, however it was a very unique approach to telling the story.
Great post, Sam. Here, you capture the relationship between the two stories and how the lines between reality and imagination blur.
“what is focused on, above all, is entertaining the reader. It is in this way the role of the artist in society is outlined.”
I agree, but isn’t there a political or ethical commitment, as Jon suggests in the lecture?