A Void and Translations

Harry Matthews highlighted some ways that the Ouilpo translate and it brought up some interesting questions in my mind. I've always acknowledged the fact that when something is translated a little bit of the author's voice is lost. However, after reading Matthews I realized that the author's voice and style could be totally "lost in translation." Authors take great pains to choose diction that best suits their cause and there is a rhythm and flow that helps tell the story. When works are translated it can all be lost when it is translated very literally. I admire the way that the Ouilpo are so creative and have fun with language. It's very refreshing to see a literary group boldly breaking the rules, but with their works still making sense. I think there is a greater significance in Perec using the lipogram style to write A Void than I had earlier attributed. I had thought maybe he gave writing a lipogram a try in order to see if he could do it. But after reading more of the novel, I think that Perec is using the omission of an important vowel as a symbol of something missing in real life. He clearly wants the reader to think of the omission outside of the novel. He highlights this with his in-your-face references to the omission.