Georges Perec and the Choiseul Arcade: Brief recount of a failed encounter

Abstract

Georges Perec has been recognized as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His abundant work stands out for its diversity. In this paper, an aborted project "Places" that the author launched in 1969 and left shortly after, will be analyzed. In particular we will work on specific place, the Choiseul Arcade in Paris, selected with eleven other sites on which the author would apply a specific method. From a cultural geography perspective and especially from humanistic geography references, the treatment of this specific place is analyzed, showing how the specificity of the place and Perec's reduced empathy towards it, was part of the difficulties he had to face in carrying out the interesting project that he proposed. More than pointing out the failure of the project and stigmatizing it, the intention of the article is to show that the criteria used by the author to confront the places involved very strong restrictions that he could not resolve. At the same time, it is pointed out that Perec is possibly one of the writer with major connivance with the social sciences and the humanities, in particular to human geography, as others like Julien Gracq.