Sylvie and Bruno Preface

In which a whimsical author recounts how scattered dreams, borrowed remarks, and stubborn scraps of fancy were coaxed—after much delightful chaos—into the shape of a most curious book, while he puzzles over originality, “padding,” and the secret machinery behind storytelling. With gentle seriousness tucked beneath playful nonsense, he wanders through thoughts on childhood, memory, faith, and the proper uses of literature and amusement, inviting the reader to ponder life’s deeper questions without peeking ahead at the tale itself.