The Facts of Winter (book review) Paul Poissel

Kakyoung Lee (Illustrator), Paul La Farge (Translator)

050719: there is an interesting point about how literal translation of the title ‘les faites d’hivers’ sounds exactly like ‘les faites-divers’(diverting/titilating tales) which were little snippets of amusing and/or scandalous bits of gossipy news inserted in serious journalism of the 1880s in paris...

170119: i do not know if all the oulipo books will work for me, this does. blurring lines between history fiction nonfiction fantasy, this short book has both english and french texts opposite. so very fun way to see how much french you read. surprised me, as it has been years (decades...) since study at u. but the language is clear, grammar formal, words simple. dreams fantastic. afterward by author shows true oulipo work. and is not what ‘happened’ in our shared waking world in winter 1881 less ‘real’ than the dreams of those nights...