While Cummings was in captivity at La Ferté-Macé, his father received an erroneous letter to the effect that his son had been lost at sea.

The cable was later rescinded, but the subsequent lack of information on his son's whereabouts left the elder Cummings distraught.

When they finally did arrive, they agreed to allow Cummings, as an official "suspect", a supervised release in the remote commune of Oloron-Sainte-Marie.

He met a number of interesting characters and had many picaresque adventures, which he compiled into The Enormous Room.

The book is written as a mix between Cummings's well-known unconventional grammar and diction and the witty voice of a young Harvard-educated intellectual in an absurd situation.