A STORY OF YOUR OWN BY RAYMOND QUENEAU: A LITERARY GAME

Abstract

French writer Raymond Queneau (Raymond Queneau, 1903-1976) is one of the founders of the literary group Oulipo, and thus popularizer of potential literature. After the Exercises in Style (Exercices de style, 1947) and the novel Zazie in the Metro (Zazie dans le métro, 1959), which made him famous, he published in 1967 another atypical work, which can be considered a potential originator of a new literary genre or just a bold experiment: A story of your own (Un conte à votre façon). In this paper, we will try to shed light on the specifics of this work by underlining its ludic potential, starting from the similarities and differences with the traditional fairy tale, and then, relying on its branched structure, we will notice the connection with interactive literature, but also highlight elements in which this work deviates from true interactivity; so the conclusion will answer the question of what literary game is actually before us.