The Skin of Dreams

“This breezy and witty episodic novel from Queneau (1903–1976), originally published in 1944 and newly translated by Clarke, chronicles the episodic adventures of a young dreamer….Clarke generally has a nimble way with Queneau’s wordplay and neologisms. This winning satire demonstrates the rewards of cultivating one’s imagination.” —Publishers Weekly

“In this fantasy of fantasies, an imaginative boy becomes, after a time, a successful movie star….The novel’s playfulness with language borrows from Joyce; its noir-isms and grand fantasies predict gangster rap. There is a refreshing lack of morality in the novel. Jacques’ fantasies are not condoned, and his selfishness in making some of them real is not condemned. Read it in one sitting and find yourself more open to your own daydreams.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Queneau was one of those writers who knew pretty much everyting there was to know about literature, but he also loved word games, and the language of the streets.” —Nicholas Lezard

“Rueil is the small town on the outskirts of Paris in which the novel begins and ends. Queneau has sketched out his plot to be symmetrical … the limited horizons of the suburbs are a blessing … what more could you want?” But for Jacques L’Aumône, our central character, it is the cinema — the source of his fantasies and the motos of his ambition — that makes staying in Rueil impossible.” —Dennis Duncan, London Review of Books

“In Queneau’s hands, we’re treated to a story told with reflective parallels, brilliant plays on language—across dictions and dictionaries, expressions and turns of phrase which expand our feeling for words tweaked-and-made-new.”
—Christa Pietrini, Michigan Quarterly Review