LA DISPARITION. 1969. SIGNED AND DEDICATED FIRST EDITION. THE NOVEL WITHOUT AN “E”! WITH PUBLISHER’S PROMOTIONAL LEAFLET.

Paris: Denoel, 1969
22 x 16cm, 320pp. Original wrappers. The first edition of this oulipou work where Perec wrote the entire novel without the use of the letter "e" (a feat even more difficult in French, of course).

Perec had previously written experimental novels using selected passages taken wholesale from other works (proceeding today’s ‘sampling’ and ‘remixing’ culture by decades) and "The disappearance" is his greatest work – the self-referential title and genuine plot making the work valuable as literature as well as a tricky writing task.

Interestingly, the absence of the letter "e" from a short speech was often the topic of a parlour game in the Perec household during the time of the book’s construction.

Copies of the first edition of the book are exceptionally hard to find and dedicated and signed books given to friends are even more so. By the way, the handwritten dedication found here on the half-title required the use of five "e"s! Near fine.

JOINT:

Paris: Denoel, 1969
16 x 10cm, 2pp black on blue typographic promotional leaflet issued by the publisher to promote the book. Annoyingly the ttext uses the letter “e” liberally. Slight fading else VG.