Exercises in Style

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Hilarious, Mind-stretching and Inspirational - Rated
Okay, so that's a bit over the top. But these stories (one story, told in many different ways, actually) make me smile, make me think about language, syntax, construction and style, and inspire me to have a go myself.
The writer uses a range of styles to explore the differences this makes to the story, and to the reader's perception of the protagonists. This book is a must for anyone who ever tried to write using different voices or in different contexts (for example, a letter has a different tone to a newspaper report, a police statement or a short story, probably).
The stunning realisiation that this book is a translation from the French makes the translator seem just as remarkable as the author!

How many ways are there to tell a story? - Rated
Many! any reader of this book will testify so! Playfull, but on certain occasions tirring by its repetitiveness. Enlightning and imaginative, as it illustrates the understanding of one story in many ways, through many prismas, as different characters would describe. A trip I would definitely suggest to everyone.

It is hard to render Queneau's wit into another language. - Rated
I have not yet read the English translation Barbara Wright made of "Exercices de style". Someone else said that she "stayed true" to the original version, but I find it hard to believe that she could exactly render Queneau's wit into English. Instead, I exhort anyone who is learning French to read the original version; it is a remarkable opportunity to learn the structure of a foreign language, and to laugh at the same time. Or, if you know Italian a little, try to read the translation by Umberto Eco; as both a semiologist and a writer, he skilfully added new amusing variations on the main theme.

An essential book for writers - Rated
Queneau keeps you laughing so that you almost fail to notice him slipping in a remarkable lesson about language, writing, and creativity. This book forever changed the way I teach my college writing course-and changed me as a writer.

One of literature's greatest jokes! - Rated
Queneau was, among many other things, a brilliant gamester. In this book he takes the most banal of stories and tells it 99 times in 99 different styles. It is a weird book, whose charm grows as you continue. Once you get to the 5th or 6th version of this inane tale, you begin to laugh and gasp and don't stop until the end. Like all good jokes, it is more than a joke. If you delight in language, read this book. If you do not delight in launguage, this book will teach you to. I have read the original French version, and Barbara Wright has stayed true to it in this wonderful translation. Don't miss this gem!