A Void/Translations

Translations of text can alter the message the writer is trying to put out there. With language barriers getting in the way, the meaning could be lost on someone who is not from the same culture as the writer. Therefore the translated work loses its value. Are we, as English speakers, missing out on the big idea of A Void? We can all comprehend the basic idea, but are we even grasping the intricate details laid out by Perec. It seems like we are missing out on the structure Perec created. By eliminating the e from his novel he is challenging us as readers to figure out the underlying meaning of his wordplay. It would seem that Perec's actions are symbolic of his novel. By setting the limitation of taking away the e, he is paralleling the language barriers. He is inspiring a new structure to get the idea of language, and how powerful words and their meanings can be.