Rating: 
Summary: A joke more than a book
Review: The basic idea is charming, but as I suspected beforehand, it doesn't translate very well into a reading experience. To put it simply, Queneau was wrong when he assumed 99 versions to be "the classic ideal" or something like that. Most of these passages are unreadable, at least all the grammatical exercises. Having said that, I must admit two things. First, since I don't know French, I had to read a Finnish translation. It's quite clear to me that some of the details must disappear in translation, especially as the Finnish language is not even related to French. (On the other hand, some passages generated specially for the Finnish edition were quite hilarious.) A more important point is that Queneau can definitely demonstrate the infinite variations in language and storytelling. How many viewpoints can you take on a simple story! The varying description of details was pretty amusing. In the end, this book is just a joke, even though a clever one. I don't think it has much to do with fictional prose.
Rating:
Summary: English (translation) is not nearly as funny!
Review: The problem with this noted exercise in linguistic virtuosity is that, despite a good competent translation, it does not transfer well into the English language. It does not capture the nuances of the original text. For the complete enjoyment of this untranslatable musical and metalingual masterwork, it's a must to find a bi-lingual edition. That way, even if your French is rudimentary (like mine), then you can extract in full this incredible, zany celebration of cultural mores (à la Paris public transportion of the late 40's) through a language at its francophone best.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the top 10 books of last century.
Review: This French author is one of the wittest but also at the same time one of the finest philosophical minds of our last century. He was a great mathematician but this book is an atypical book. Apparently Queaneau was influenced heavily by the Diabelli Variations in terms of poking fun at the classical tradition while celebrating it as well. I think that the ingenuity shines through the Barbara Wright translation as well as the clarity of the utterly hilarious and mundane subject. However, this is a forerunner of the rather serious movement-the nouveau roman by focusing on the mundanity and scientificity of life in general. On the other hand, I think that this author is definitely one of the most underrated authors of our times. He ought to be appreciated a lot more in terms of its own profundity and his abstract viewpoints on life. I love its wit and I would reread it millions of times if I could...
Rating:
Summary: Read this out loud
Review: This is not a poignant love story, nor is it a sad haunting tale. It is simply a silly story told 99 different times. It explores language and expressions so well, it amazes me that it is a translation. If you read it out loud to an audience you will get the joke and discover how truly funny and clever this book is.
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