At a dinner party hosted by a wealthy New Yorker, a guest receives a gold adze, the coveted prize in a worm race. When the man dies the next day, he bequeaths, according to a stipulation in his will, the bulk of his fortune to the adze's possessor, provided he answer three mysterious questions relating to the artifact's history. In his search the owner encounters a menagerie of eccentric personalities: an ancient revolutionary in a Parisian prison, a ludicrous pair of gibberish-speaking brothers, and customs officials ...
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At a dinner party hosted by a wealthy New Yorker, a guest receives a gold adze, the coveted prize in a worm race. When the man dies the next day, he bequeaths, according to a stipulation in his will, the bulk of his fortune to the adze's possessor, provided he answer three mysterious questions relating to the artifact's history. In his search the owner encounters a menagerie of eccentric personalities: an ancient revolutionary in a Parisian prison, a ludicrous pair of gibberish-speaking brothers, and customs officials who spend their time reading contraband materials. He soon finds himself immersed in the centuries-long history of a persecuted religious sect and in an odyssey that begins in a forgotten fog-covered town in Scotland and ends on the ocean floor off the cost of an uncharted French island. 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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Fine. Open Books is a nonprofit social venture that provides literacy experiences for thousands of readers each year through inspiring programs and creative capitalization of books.
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New. Num Pages: 192 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 216 x 141 x 15. Weight in Grams: 258. We ship daily from our Bookshop.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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 (and now our) quest to translate the square plates on the blade of his gifted/won adze, the narrative and characters spring to life. No detail is left out, though the read is far from tedious.
Definitely for fans of Italo Calvino and Flann O'Brien.
