Subversion of reading recommendations based on age by Toujours la même histoire’s editorial enunciation

Abstract

Toujours la même histoire is a creative literary exercise which consisted in retelling the same story three times in a row. Each version was dedicated to a different reading audience: children, youth and adults. We ask ourselves: how does the exploration of the printed book’s plasticity and of its verbal discourses reflects the editorial conventions for these three age groups, at the same time debating them? We aim to understand how such conventions are respected or subverted, especially in terms of exploring the plasticity of the graphic design, the enunciative choices of the three verbal discourses that establish similar but not identical narratives, and the use of illustrations. Methodologically, we employ the theoretical framework of Semiotics, and particularly of Plastic Semiotics, developed by A. J. Greimas and his collaborators. We finally understand that precisely because of strict respect for editorial rules in its plastic and verbal discourses, this book breaks away from some publishing traditions by exploring exactly the same themes and values in its three versions, denying through its editorial enunciation the usual reading indications based on chronological age. Toujours la même histoire, in short, suggests that there are no “adult” subjects that cannot be addressed in children’s literature, and vice versa.