Anne Garréta's 'Pas un jour': Oulipo Novel of Formal Constraint and Desire
Anne Garréta's novel 'Pas un jour' (Éditions Grasset, 2002) deploys radical formal constraints to critique contemporary subjectivity, desire, and sexual difference. A member of Oulipo since 2000, Garréta has consistently used formal rules since her first novel 'Sphinx'. 'Pas un jour' amplifies and ironizes the literary market's demand for confession and eroticism, as outlined in her earlier 'La Décomposition'. The book's title puns on Pliny's 'nulla dies sine linea' and the erotic 'pas un jour sans une femme'. Its ante scriptum establishes a protocol: second-person narration, writing as a 35-hour workweek, and a mandate to confess desire. Twelve alphabetically ordered chapters evoke memorable desires, while a post scriptum subverts the initial device. The novel treats desire as often suspended rather than satisfied, finding its condition in insatisfaction.
Key facts
- Anne Garréta's novel 'Pas un jour' was published by Éditions Grasset in 2002.
- Garréta became a member of Oulipo in 2000.
- Her first novel was 'Sphinx'.
- The title alludes to Pliny's 'nulla dies sine linea' and the erotic 'pas un jour sans une femme'.
- The book uses a second-person singular narration as a formal constraint.
- The ante scriptum mandates writing 35 hours per week as a 'fonctionnaire de la mémoire de vos désirs'.
- Twelve chapters are designated by letters and ordered alphabetically.
- The novel critiques the literary market's demand for 'guimauve et foutre' (marshmallow and semen).
- A post scriptum undermines the initial device.
- The work continues Garréta's exploration of subjectivity, desire, and sexual difference.
Entities
Artists
- Anne Garréta
- Georges Perec
- Pliny the Elder
Institutions
- Oulipo
- Éditions Grasset
Sources
- artpress —