The Pataphysician’s Library: An Exploration of Alfred Jarry’s Livres Pairs

Annotation. "The focus of The Pataphysician's Library is the enigmatic list of books termed the livres pairs which appears in Alfred Jarry's novel Gestes et Opinions du docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien, completed in 1898. The list includes well-known books and more obscure works, but the greatest interest of the livres pairs lies in the light they throw on the vibrant and experimental atmosphere in which Jarry and his contemporaries worked. Several of Jarry's friends, such as Leon Bloy, Gustave Kahn, Stephane Mallarme, Rachilde and Henri de Regnier feature in the novel, as the rulers of islands visited by the pataphysician Faustroll in his curious voyage around Paris. For the purposes of the voyage, Faustroll reduces each livre pair to its essence; these are often indicative of Jarry's approach to the texts. The second part of the book examines some of the central themes of Symbolist writing as revealed in Jarry's collection of livres pairs." "Jarry is best known as the precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd with his play Ubu Roi, staged in 1896, but this study shows how his prose work relates to contemporary trends and gives a fascinating picture of the French literary avant-garde at the fin-de-siecle."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.