Exercises in style

On a crowded bus at midday, Raymond Queneau observes one man accusing another of jostling him deliberately. When a seat is vacated, the first man appropriates it. Later, in another part of town, Queneau sees the man being advised by a friend to sew another button on his overcoat. Exercises in Style retells this unexceptional tale ninety-nine times in ninety-nine different styles. An ´Abusive´ chapter heartily deplores the events, ´Opera English´ lends them grandeur. Raymond Queneau rendered Barbara Wright his ´heartiest congratulations´, adding, ´I have always thought that nothing is untranslatable. Here is new proof´.