Double game

Double Game was the first major publication in English by French artist Sophie Calle (born 1953), and is her bestselling title to date. It takes the form of a double jeu or double game between the work of Sophie Calle and the fiction of Paul Auster. The story begins with Maria, a fictional character in Paul Auster¿s novel, Leviathan. Most of the fictional Maria¿s works are, in fact, based on those of the real-life Sophie Calle. The first section of Double Game features Calle¿s representations of the fictional Maria¿s works. We see the pieces both as they¿re described in their fictional context and as Calle¿s own interpretation of the descriptions from Paul Auster¿s novel. In the second section, the story delves deeper into Calle¿s world, with a sequence of Calle¿s seminal narrative and abstract works in texts and images that were in turn appropriated by the fictional Maria in Leviathan. The third section of Double Game switches the focus back to Maria¿s original creator, Paul Auster, who takes Calle as his subject, formulating for her the Gotham Handbook, which offers personalized instructions for the artist on ¿How to Improve Life in New York City.¿

Chapter One   I The life of Maria and how it influenced the life of Sophie. In Leviathan , Maria puts herself through the same rituals as I did. But Paul Auster has slipped some rules of his own inventing into his portrait of Maria. In order to bring Maria and myself closer together, I decided to go by the book. The author imposes on his creature a chromatic regimen which consists in restricting herself to foods of a single color for any given day. I followed his instructions. He has her base whole days on a single letter of the alphabet. I did as she does. THE CHROMATIC DIET To be like Maria, during the week of December 8 to 14, 1997, I ate Orange on Monday, Red on Tuesday, White on Wednesday, and Green on Thursday. Since Paul Auster had given his character the other days off, I made Friday Yellow and Saturday Pink. As for Sunday, I decided to devote it to the full spectrum of colors, setting out for six guests the six menus tested over the week. MONDAY : ORANGE Menu imposed: Purée of carrots Boiled prawns Cantaloupe melon Paul Auster forgot to mention drinks, so I allowed myself to complete his menu with: Orange juice TUESDAY : RED Menu imposed: Tomatoes Steak tartare Pomegranates I completed the menu with: Roasted red peppers Lalande de Pomerol, domaine de Viaud, 1990 WEDNESDAY : WHITE Menu imposed: Flounder Potatoes Fromage blanc I changed this menu, because I was not satisfied with the yellow color of the potatoes, and added: Rice Milk THURSDAY : GREEN Menu imposed: Cucumber Broccoli Spinach I completed the menu with: Green basil pasta Grapes and kiwi fruit Mint cordial FRIDAY : YELLOW Since no color was prescribed for Friday, I chose yellow. Menu: Afghan omelette Potato salad "Young Girl's Dream" (Banana, mango ice cream) Pschitt fizzy lemon drink SATURDAY : PINK Since no color was prescribed for Saturday, I chose pink. Menu: Ham Taramasalata Strawberry ice cream Rosé wine from Provence SUNDAY: ORANGE, RED, WHITE, GREEN, YELLOW, & PINK Lots were drawn for the menus and everybody acquitted themselves conscientiously, if without enthusiasm, at their task. Personally, I preferred not to eat; novels are all very well but not necessarily so very delectable if you live them to the letter. DAYS UNDER THE SIGN OF B, C, & W To be like Maria, I spent the day of Tuesday, March 10, 1998, under the sign of B for Big-Time Blonde Bimbo ; Tuesday, February 16, 1998, under the sign of C for Calle & Calle in the Cemetery ; Thursday, March 19, 1998, under the sign of C for Confession ; and Saturday, March 14, 1998, under the sign of W for Weekend in Wallonia . Continues... Copyright (c) 1999 Violette Limited, Sophie Calle, Paul Auster. All rights reserved.