A Study of Autofiction Inspired with Quantum Theories in the Works of George Perec

The controversial theories of modern physics created a remarkable revolution in twentieth-century literature. The progressive novelists of the century, inspired by the concepts in quantum mechanics, expressed the concerns of living in the modern world in the form of non-linear, heterogeneous writing based on doubt. In his autobiographical work, entitled W or the Childhood Memory, George Perec presents a good example of representing the quantum theories. In search of his identity, the writer explores his childhood memories and elucidates the chaotic, disordered quality of those memories. In order to indicate the devastating effect of war on his identity, he blends the narrative of his childhood memories with a fictional story and in this way creates paradoxical complements. Moreover, through doubting his memories and utilizing old documents and sayings of people, he makes uncertainty and probability control his autobiography, and renders genuine report of events impossible. This procedure defines the author’s attitude to literature and his perspective of the autobiographical genre.