Italo Calvino and Georges Perec: the multiple and contrasting emotions of cities and puzzles.(Critical essay) From: The Romanic Review | Date: May 1, 2006| Author: Chiesa, Laura | COPYRIGHT 2006 Columbia University. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

If the question of estrangement is emblematic and inescapable in the literary criticism of Italo Calvino, (1) for Georges Perec the question is that of the 'infra-ordinaire' and of the 'contrainte du reel.' (2) I will try, beginning with these two poles (estrangement and infra-ordinaire) to demonstrate the connections and the disjunctions that pass between Calvino's Le citta invisibili and Perec's La Vie mode d'emploi as regards the way in which they articulate and dislocate space ...