Thinking that I had come across the name Queneau in relation to Nabokov, I came upon this intriguing tid-bit by googling:

NABOKOV ON QUENEAU.

I am happy to report that Vladimir Vladimirovich agreed with me on the transcendent merits of Exercices de style:

Queneau's Exercices de style is a thrilling masterpiece and, in fact, one of the greatest stories in French literature. I am also very fond of Queneau's Zazie, and I remember some excellent essays he published in Nouvelle revue française.

This satisfying quote comes from a series of Nabokov interview snippets put online by Maud Newton, to whom I express my gratitude.

I don't know who "me" is, but the "Queneau" that I was thinking of turns out to be Peter Quennell who did indeed write the introduction to Vladimir Nabokov, his life, his work, his world : a tribute / edited by Peter Quennell.

p.s. I recall seeing a film based on Queneau's "Zazie dans le métro" back in the old days. I thought I had enjoyed it, but came across it more recently and was bored.

p.p.s. Speaking of "trois" - does anyone besides me recall Danny Kaye's rendition of "un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq"?

All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by both co-editors.

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