Dump This Book While You Still Can!

by Marcel Bénabou, Warren Motte, Steven Rendall (Translation)

In one of the most thought-provoking and wry books by one of the most intriguing contemporary writers in French literature, readers become party to the dilemma of "challenging" literature in a singularly involving and amusing fashion.

Opening a book that has mysteriously appeared amid the clutter of his desk, the narrator finds himself exhorted not to read further, to throw the book away! Instead (but of course) he tries different strategies for approaching the book, none of which work. The narrator's tempestuous, increasingly obsessive relationship with the book he is determined to read, interwoven with the story of a real (but no less enigmatic) love affair, is, in its own challenging way, a charmed and charming, deeply provocative meditation upon reading and writing, and their inevitable discontents. Dump This Book offers a new angle on the work of this original writer and an ironic perspective on the power of reading to produce meaning.

Genres: France

202 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1992

About the author

"Emeritus professor of Roman history at the Paris Diderot University, Marcel Bénabou's work focuses on ancient Rome, in particular North Africa during Antiquity and acculturation and romanisation processes at work in these provinces.

A member of the "Ouvroir de littérature potentielle" (or OuLiPo) since 1969, which he joined one year after his friend Georges Perec, the following year he became the definitively provisional secretary. Since 2003 he combines this function with that of provisionally definitive secretary.

His Oulipian works often focus on the genesis of literary work and autobiography.

He appears in the guise of the lawyer Hassan Ibn Abbou in the novel La Disparition by his friend Georges Perec."

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Senryu Review:

Brilliant Oulipo
palimpsest: another “non-book”
to read and not-read.

[Darryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man who has just turned 40 and lives alone in a cluttered apartment one day finds a book that he doesn't remember buying on his desk. Its cover is completely blank, and the book opens with a request that it not be read:

'Come on, dump this book. Or better yet, throw it as far away as you can. Right now. Before it's too late. That resolution is your only escape, believe me.'

The narrator is piqued and intrigued, and decides to read the book in spite of the author's request, both for the challenge of reading it, and because he is convinced that it will be worth the effort. He is perplexed and consumed by it, and he devotes nearly all his energy to elucidating its hidden messages. Throughout this book, we learn about Sophie, a young but elusive woman who he loves deeply, his past and current unsatisfactory life, and the pleasures and frustrations of reading.

Unfortunately, I lost interest in this story and its narrator somewhere in the middle of the book, as it became a bit too clever and esoteric for me. So, I would encourage anyone considering this book to dump it before you buy it.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A devil of a little book. A book about difficult books. Which makes it a very strange book. Nevertheless, Marcel Bénabou's sense of humor and wonder makes it an interesting read. I'm often attracted to literature that is about reading, or one feels that they should even read behind the text, if that's possible. The many textures of reading is a fascinating subject matter. For those who like to read, and wonder why they're reading a specific book. You will enjoy this.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining book about the struggle to read a book, especially a book that makes it difficult. What is the key to unlocking the text? What does the author mean? Will we ever discover the secret?