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Rating: 
Summary: Implausible historical characters, annoying litery devices
Review: "Mr. Mani" is the story of a Sephardic family over a couple centuries, told via one side of conversations, and going backwards in time. Both devices are hoary. I didn't believe for a second that the characters were of their own time. They were not even three-dimensional moderns. The prose alternates between plodding and precious. It's beyond me why this novel is well-respected.
Rating:
Summary: Implausible historical characters, annoying litery devices
Review: "Mr. Mani" is the story of a Sephardic family over a couple centuries, told via one side of conversations, and going backwards in time. Both devices are hoary. I didn't believe for a second that the characters were of their own time. They were not even three-dimensional moderns. The prose alternates between plodding and precious. It's beyond me why this novel is well-respected.
Rating: 
Summary: How did a Mere Human Write this Masterpiece?
Review: I concur with other readers that "Mr. Mani" stands in a class of its own. The book, which spans centuries, manages to do so while remaining riveting and vivid. That I remember it years after re-reading it, that I am now trying to write my own novel allows me to now see how truly masterful this book is. If you don't write you may not realize how much had to go into the leaping stories, the profundity of character and the great subject this author took on and completed. Maybe a few on this earth are as blessed with the gift of creation, but they are very few indeed.
Rating:
Summary: How did a Mere Human Write this Masterpiece?
Review: I concur with other readers that "Mr. Mani" stands in a class of its own. The book, which spans centuries, manages to do so while remaining riveting and vivid. That I remember it years after re-reading it, that I am now trying to write my own novel allows me to now see how truly masterful this book is. If you don't write you may not realize how much had to go into the leaping stories, the profundity of character and the great subject this author took on and completed. Maybe a few on this earth are as blessed with the gift of creation, but they are very few indeed.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of Experimental Fiction
Review: I love much experimental literature and MR. MANI is definitely a book that fits that category, if indeed, this masterpiece of fiction can be categorized at all. MR. MANI concerns itself with six generations of a Sephardic Jewish family. One element that makes this book "experimental" is the fact that the author has chosen to trace the origins of the Mani family from modern times backwards. The book opens in modern day Israel, then moves backward to Crete, Jerusalem and even Basel, Switzerland before concluding during the days of the Ottoman Empire. I enjoyed this backward movement, although I know many readers who would find it distracting. Another element that makes MR. MANI experimental is the author's stylistic choice of never letting the Mani men speak for themselves. We see them, and get to know them, but only through the eyes of others...others whose views may be distorted or skewed...or may be exactly on target. These "one-sided" conversations require the reader to fill in the missing pieces...something that may intrigue many readers and may irritate others. We also see the Mani men in different time periods, so that what defines one of them during one period may not do so in another. Because of the stylistic devices employed to tell this story, the facts, the emotions and the ultimate truth are revealed little by little, like a set of Russian dolls. We learn the stories of many characters and their connections to the men in the Mani family. The whole book is something like a spiderweb of complex associations and relationships. MR. MANI is a rather dark book and one must certainly concentrate when reading it. Yehoshua doesn't spell everything out for us in MR. MANI. There are many things are merely nuances and, in my opinion, this enriches the book rather than diminishes it. If you're merely looking for light reading or entertainment, then MR. MANI certainly wouldn't be the book for you. If, however, you love experimental fiction and you love books to which the term "masterpiece" can easily apply, the MR. MANI would no doubt be perfect. Highly recommended for lovers of very intellectual, literary fiction.
Rating:
Summary: 6 stars
Review: I stopped to write a review only because I saw that all five stars were not fully checked. One can like or not like the content of the book, but as a exposition of writing craft it is - bar none - the best book in the world. (Allright, I'll be circumspect, maybe one of the best). It will blow you away and change the way you think about the novel as a literary form. A genius at his best, no less.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest Novels of All Time
Review: This is an unusual written book. Until You read,You won't understand. It was a pleasure to read it.
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