Mantissa (novel)

Mantissa
Cover of Plume Fiction edition of Mantissa
Author(s)	John Fowles
Country	England
Language	English
Publisher	Jonathan Cape (UK) Little, Brown (US)
Publication date	1982
Media type	Print
ISBN	0316289809

Mantissa is a novel by British author John Fowles published in 1982. It consists entirely of a presumably imaginary dialogue in a writer's head between himself and an embodiment of the Muse Erato, after he wakes an amnesiac in a hospital bed.

Critical reception

Mantissa was Fowles' only novel to receive generally negative reviews. The New York Times called it "a surprisingly tedious novel," asserting that it was little more than Fowles' response to critics that he felt misunderstood his work.^[1] The Boston Globe named it "an idiotic story."^[2] Time magazine, in a more positive review, asserted that the book consists of a sort of intellectual play between Fowles and the reader, or by Fowles at the expense of all reading.^[3] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette likewise identified the book as intellectually playful but found the dialogue tiresome.^[4]

References

1. ^ Leonard, John (1982-08-31). "Books of the Times: Mantissa". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/31/books/books-of-the-times-118558.html. Retrieved 2011-05-31. 
2. ^ Manning, Margaret (1982-09-05). "Fowles: A Migration And An Entertainment; Mantissa". Boston Globe. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/666542151.html?FMT=ABS. Retrieved 2011-05-31. 
3. ^ Gray, Paul (1982-09-06). "Books: The Prisoners of Gender". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949572,00.html. Retrieved 2011-05-31. 
4. ^ Paris, Barry (1982-09-07). "John Fowles muses about fiction". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=usMwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2m0DAAAAIBAJ&dq=mantissa&pg=2866%2C1842435. Retrieved 2011-05-31.