Reviews

Stiiliharjutused by Raymond Queneau

alixfitz0926's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

what a fun lil book
of the inspired by exercises i liked doppelgänger the best 

lukija's review against another edition

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4.0

Yksi lyhyt tarina ja sen 99 eri variaatiota. Mitä tapahtuu? Kertojan ääni muuttuu, tarinan tunnelma muuttuu, tarinan faktatkin voivat muuttua (!) ja näkökulma tarinan sisältöön voi muuttua. - - - Hupaisaa, jännittävää, opettavaista ja vähän outoa.

timdiner's review against another edition

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challenging funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

sarratbb's review against another edition

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5.0

This was just so hilarious, I honestly am amazed at this amount of creativity. We just had a creative writing exercise to do similar to the concept of this book, aka telling a story in multiple different styles. I had to do ten and struggled, 99 styles??? that is crazy. This is just incredible but so simple and funny looking, I love this on so many levels.

uselysses's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

caramels's review against another edition

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3.0

Adorablement génial <3

chloechloe's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

_el__'s review against another edition

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challenging reflective fast-paced

3.75

leggocomemangio's review against another edition

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4.0

Tempo di lettura: variabile
Cosa vi serve: 99 fogli bianchi

Attirata da sempre da chi scrive in maniera non canonica, alla continua ricerca di gusti inusuali al mio palato, sono arrivata per vie traverse a questo libro di Queneau. Beh non posso dire di non aver trovato pane (anti)surrealista per i miei denti. La versione italiana del libro è di Umberto Eco e io posso solo immaginare quanto si sia divertito a tradurlo o, meglio, a riscriverlo dato che non sempre è possibile rendere in italiano quanto scritto in francese. L'assunto di base è che esistono mille modi per descrivere un evento, ma che succede quando ci diamo una sorta di binario su cui muoverci per farlo? La storia di base è relativa a un episodio accaduto su un bus parigino, le altre 99 volte saranno scritte in 99 modi diversi seguendo i binari più svariati. Abbiamo la storia "Arcobaleno" (unico esempio che vi metto), avremo la versione olfattiva, la versione reazionaria, molte versioni che seguono i dettami di figure retoriche, fino anche a veri e propri esercizi degni di un enigmista (non a caso questa edizione è curata da S.Bartezzaghi figlio e fratello dei noti enigmisti).
Lasciatevi stupire dalle arzigogolatezze linguistiche, fatevi divertire dalla costruzione delle frasi.

È decisamente un libro da nerd linguistici.
Io vi ho avvertito!

thomasgoddard's review against another edition

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3.0

A clever little book this one. It is actually a single story, more of an event really, retold in a myriad of different ways.

The title is often the key to unlocking the trick at play. For example:

Olfactory tells the same tale with a special focus on smells. Zoological uses only animal metaphors. The Rainbow moves from a violet bus, past a yellow seat, to climax with a red coat.

Smart, no? It actually becomes quite a rewarding read when you manage to work out the more subtle conventions at play. I found myself actively avoiding the titles, so as not to give the game away.

And with an introduction by Umberto Eco and essay by Italo Calvino, I wasn't surprised to find the work a quite rewarding read.

But now onto the negative. I feel that the experiment could have benefited from a more interesting event. A man sees two men get into an argument over jostling. The first takes a seat when one becomes free. The narrator then sees the same man, later on in the day, in a different part of the city. While he's being told to sew a new button onto his coat.

I feel if he'd retold the story of the birth of Christ. Or maybe a cliche kismet love story. Then it might have been more interesting than a dry repetition of an everyday situation.

And I'm fully aware it's an intentional decision. It's just that it did make me feel like it was a chore by the end, just sayin'.

Not a book to read in one sitting. I'd have it in your bag and read one per bus stop over a few weeks.