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Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful.
Review: A precurser to Surrealism, this gem of French literature is not to be overlooked despite it's "out of print" status. The imagery in this book is nothing short of amazing and the oddly structured "plot" easily holds your attention throughout the book. In fact, the imagery alone is worth the price you may have to pay tracking this book down.
When I started reading the book my attention was immediatly drawn into the bizzare descriptions of absurd machines and circus-like performances that made little sense at the time. It was hard to stop laughing at some of the off the wall images my mind conjured while reading and when the pangs of laughter finally alleviated I couldn't put the book down. The second half is full of explainations about what you just read and introduces the characters and setting from the first part of the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Surrealism or experimental literature. It really doesn't get much better.
Rating: 
Summary: A sadly out of print classic of experimental literature.
Review: Shipwrecked European travelers are held for ransom in an imaginary African kingdom. While they wait for the payment they set up a series of entertainments to keep their spirits up. These performances are the main focus of Roussel's book, an often neglected classic of experimental literature. The first half comprises objective descriptions of bizarre individual talents and strange "technological" demonstrations. The second half explains to the reader what he has just read: the background of the participants and the origins of their skills. Trying to describe Roussel's enigmatic novel in 1000 words is impossible. While the book is currently not available, readers can check out an extract in Roussel's "How I Wrote Certain of My Books," an excellent volume itself, which contains sections form some of Roussel's other works and John Ashbery's translation of Roussel's essay explaining his fascinating methods of composition.
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