This obviously places a great number of constraints on the text, but Mathews still manages to make much of it. Decidedly Oulipian in approach, it is a perversely interesting effort. A bird in the hand does as the Romans do. Man proposes, but you can't make him drink. It's an ill wind that's another man's poison.
Paraphrases take the perverbs a step further, paraphrasing the perverbs in more explicit language.
A clever and humorous collection it has definite entertainment value. It is a fun and occasionally thoughtful read. Not your usual fiction, but worthwhile in its own right. American author Harry Mathews was born in 1930. He graduated from Harvard.