The manuscript of the novel was considered lost for a long time. Thirty years after the author’s death, its publication makes it possible to cover in its entirety the multifaceted work of one of the most significant writers of the 20th century. The first completed novel both anticipates and illuminates in a new way everything that Perec subsequently wrote. The main conflict unfolds in the genre of a psychological detective story: a virtuoso artisan dreams of becoming a true creator, defeating time, and rewriting history. The process of liberation from this obsession becomes the plot of the novel.