A wild goose chase through a remarkably unusual world, The Conversions invites both reader and protagonist to participate in a quest for answers to an elusive game.
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Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
a perfect book
30 Jun 2000
By Micah B. Kleit
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Harry Mathews is the most important novelist writing in the English language that no one reads. It's a pity, for he writes with a style and engagement that, if left in less talented hands, could be considered effete, but with his mastery of language and narrative comes off as pure genius.
The Conversions is essentially about solving a riddle, but the search for its answer allows Mathews to do what he's best at: telling stories, and in all respects displaying a love for and engaging with the potential of language.
If you've not read Mathews before, this book will get you hooked; you'll soon want to read his novels, his essays, poems and other pieces, and will soon recognize that he is an American master, one whose works will only grow in stature with the years.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now Converted
8 May 2012
By Austin B. Alexander
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Just now finished my first book by Mr. Matthews, a new character to me by way of Oulipos by way of Pataphysics....
The Conversions is a multi-tiered treasure hunt, filled with the Oulipo projects of experimental writing and codification. But in the dismay of the overwhelming tease of yet jucier information in his quest to translate the square plates on the blade of his giften/won adze, the narrative and characters spring to life. No detail is left out, though the read is far from tedious or lugubrious, regardless of the fact that....
The Conversions is a multi-tiered treasure hunt, filled with the Oulipo projects of experimental writing and codification. But in the dismay of the overwhelming tease of yet jucier information in his quest to translate the square plates on the blade of his giften/won adze, the narrative and characters spring to life. No detail is left out, though the read is far from tedious or lugubrious, regardless of the fact that....
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Curiouser and curiouser
10 Dec 2000
By M. J. Smith
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This is a book that was meticulously planned - word play and images, false starts and unreliable history - all in an interplay that is both riveting and frustrating. Riveting because of the quality of the imagination; frustrating because reading is one long riddle requiring very intense concentration by the reader.
The book is filled with wordplay ... most notably beginning with a gypsy "game" of describing the scene on a ball filled with boiling water ...; the narrator wins the game in what is called "a new triumph ... of analytical poetry over descriptive prose". Songs seem to carry hidden messages. Horse pedigrees are given in exhaustive detail. A man writes and speaks backwards - two languages, in effect, for one reverses sounds, the other letter. Old manuscripts hide clues in the red letters at the beginning of each line - if you only know what to add and where to divide. Authors and titles of books seized at customs, nine civil servants each of whom distorts language more strongly than the predecessor.
Through all the word play is a plot that is entertaining - but not always sufficiently so to motivate one to put the work into reading that this novel demands.
In short, The Conversions has a fascinating use of language in a satisfactory plot; the author is in full control at all times. Well worth your time ... but chose your time well.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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