It’s been a while, but I am happy to have another Leonardo Review to share.
Although a quick read, Paris pataphysique is an extremely rich little book. In it, historian and eminent ‘elephantologue’, [1] Pascal Varejka develops his argument to define Paris as pataphysical par excellence. For this he makes obviously use of the art of imaginary solutions as this the main domain of pataphysics.
Varejka makes his case in 13 short chapters and an introduction. In this latter he makes immediately clear that Paris didn’t wait for the publication of Alfred Jarry’s work or the founding of the Collège de ‘Pataphysique to resort to imaginary solutions. Since the origins of Paris go considerably longer back in time one could say she took a rather bog lead in this. Varejka argues that Paris revealed her profound pataphysical nature over time with the help of “the municipal authorities, the government, the catholic church, more or less hastened chroniclers, the often legendary tradition, the public transport RATP and diverse companies or associations such as the Bateaux Mouches or the tourist information on the so-called ‘free community’ of Montmartre [2] In his itinerary Varejka is guided his favourite pataphysician Boris Vian who talks about the equivalency of opposites as one of the guiding principles of pataphysics. Which is the main reason for pataphysics not to make a difference between what is serious and what not as they are exactly the same. Varejka thus undertakes his navigation of the Paris through the centuries with great historical seriousness, but not without humour, recounting along the way various improbable but nevertheless insightful instances of pataphysicisms.
Read the full review here.
Pascal Varejka, Paris pataphysique, Editions La Bibliothèque, 2024
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