Pierre Senges: Fragments de Lichtenberg (Fragments of Lichtenberg)

The latest addition to my website is Pierre SengesFragments de Lichtenberg (Fragments of Lichtenberg) . This is another glorious post-modern romp, this time taking as it starting point the relatively unknown German scientist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Lichtenberg left behind a collection of what he called Sudelbücher in German, which translates as, approximately, scrap books in English, containing a large amount of aphorisms. The basis of this work is firstly to look at Lichtenberg and his life from various aspects, some historical and some decidedly fanciful and, secondly, to follow a group of people known as Lichtenbergians, who think these fragments can be arranged to form a coherent Great Novel. Most of them not only want to create a great novel but a specific great novel, such as a variation of Robinson Crusoe or Snow White’s eighth dwarf (and many more). Lichtenberg has great fun mocking them all, while taking the idea well beyond the realms of normalcy, all the time keeping his tongue firmly in his cheek. It is a enormous fun and completely over the top.

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