The Crab Nebula - Opening

Given a choice between deafness and blindness, Crab would lose his hearing on the spot, without a moment's hesitation. Yet he values music far more than painting. And this is not Crab's only contradiction, as we shall see. If he then had to choose between his right eye and his right hand, he would opt for the latter. He would sooner keep his left hand than his right eye, and he would preserve his right hand at the expense of his left eye. But ask him to choose between both eyes and both hands, he who claimed to prefer either of his hands to either of his eyes, and he will gladly give up both hands in order to retain both eyes.

Publication of this translation was assisted by a grant from the French Ministry of Culture.
1993 by Les Editions de Minuit Translation copyright 1997 by the University of Nebraska Press. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. The paper in this book meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences - Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI ZZ39.48-1984. Ser in Font Company Vendome & Bitstream Maritime symbols by Tseng Information Systems. Book design: Richaard Eckersley.


Translated by
Jordan Stump and
Eleanor Hardin