Lauren Elkin's 'No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute' published by Les Fugitives

Lauren Elkin's book 'No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute' documents her daily bus journeys through Paris, employing constraints inspired by the Oulipo group. The collection was written on her phone during commutes over a year marked by both personal trauma, including an ectopic pregnancy, and public events like Paris terror attacks. Elkin's method differs from Oulipo's dispassionate approach through its embrace of the messy reality of bus travel, with observations of fellow passengers and urban performances. Influenced by Georges Perec's 'An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris' (1975) and Jacques Jouet's metro poem technique, the work transforms routine commutes into a study of community and emotional experience. Elkin examines how people coexist in shared spaces while maintaining privacy, suggesting community involves 'going together, while companionably ignoring each other.' The book captures changing perceptions of everyday life, noting how personal circumstances alter one's view of the city. Published by Les Fugitives, this diaristic work reveals patterns in urban experience and how disruptions become woven into personal narratives.