Raymond Queneau; Children of Clay
Translated from the French and with an Introduction by Madeleine Velguth
Series No.: SMC 100
ISBN: 978-1557132864, Pages: 444
A Sun & Moon title.
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Long considered a writer’s writer, Raymond Queneau (1903-1976) has gradually come to be recognized as one of the major voices in 20th-century literature. His publications include 14 novels, 15 volumes of poetry, and four collections of essays. Although they are known above all for brilliant wordplay, stylistic innovation, and the incorporation of spoken French and phonetic spelling into works of literature, Queneau’s novels are also rich in historical and philosophical allusions while presenting a lively picture of French society in the first half of our century. His bestselling Zazie dans le métro (1959; Zazie, 1960) is perhaps his most well-known work. Queneau worked for the French publisher Gallimard for nearly 40 years, first as an English reader, then as a member of the powerful editorial committee, and finally as editor of the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade.
Queneau’s fifth novel, Lev Enfants du limon (Children of Clay), was published in 1938. It is an extraordinary novel, stretching the boundaries of the genre, and has been called the masterpiece of Queneau’s pre-war period. Queneau says of the story: “The plot involves three groups of characters: one formed by the grocer Gramigni, devoted to Saint Anthony of Padua, the maid Clemence, who plays the piano, young Bossu, of bitter destiny, and the humble folk of La Ciotat, where the story begins; the second, by the various members of the Claye-Chambernac-Hachamoth family, wealthy industrialists prey to various eccentricities...; the third, by M. Chambernac and his secretary Purpulan, a ‘poor devil.’” All of this is spun against a subtly drawn, allegorical background. Realism and social criticism intermingle with fantasy, while the boundary between lunacy and sanity is increasingly called into question by the irrational activities of the children of Claye.