W ou le souvenir d'enfance
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W ou le souvenir d'enfance (W, or, the Memory of Childhood), is a semi-autobiographical work of fiction, published in 1975 by Georges Perec.
This book is divided twice. Firstly it is divided into part one and part two and secondly each part is composed of two threads which alternate each chapter. The constant changes in narrative make it a difficult book to read.
The autobiographical thread is a collection of memories as well as descriptions of photos from Perec's childhood. The memories in the first part of the book lead up to Perec's separation from his mother when he was evacuated in the Second World War. The second part recollects his life as an evacuee. The older narrator sometimes provides interpretations of the memories and often comments on details which his research has showed to be false or borrowed.
The fictional thread is made up of two narratives. In the first part the narrator, Gaspard Winkler, meets a mysterious individual who is researching the disappearance of a deaf and dumb boy in a shipwreck. The boy shares the narrator's name.
The second part introduces a new fiction, apparently written by Perec at the age of thirteen. The story recounts the organisation of an Olympian Island called W in which life revolves around principles of sport and competition. The rules are complicated and arbitrary and the athletes suffer and die. It is a clear allegory of a Nazi concentration camp, a fact which is confirmed by the way the book ends.
