Perec has rightfully assumed his position in the pantheon of truly original
writers of the past century. Godine has issued all but one is his books in
this country, including his masterpiece Life A User's Manual. Here, in one
volume, are three easy pieces by the master of the verbal firecracker and
Gallic wit. The novella The Exeter Text contains all those E's that were
omitted from A Void (Perec hated waste) and no other vowel (honest). In
Which Moped with Chrome-Plated Handlebars at the Back of the Yard? we are
introduced to Sergeant Henri Pollak and his vehicle (the aforementioned
moped) that carried him between Vincennes and Montparnasse; in A Gallery
Portrait, the sensation of the 1913 exhibition in Pittsburgh depicts the
artists' patron, beer baron Hermann Raffke, sitting in front of his huge
art collection, which includes (of course) A Gallery Portrait of the baron
sitting before A Gallery Portrait, etc.