Harry Mathews: Facts Are Lies – A Poetics of Fiction

A review of the French translation of Harry Mathews's essay collection "Le Cas du Maltais persévérant" (P.O.L), originally published in English as "The Case of the Persevering Maltese." The book gathers critical essays written from 1971 to 2002, in which Mathews, a member of Oulipo since 1973, articulates his poetics. He argues that facts are mere consensus and cannot represent reality; instead, fiction and formal devices reveal truth. Mathews distinguishes oral language (capable of truth) from written language (suspect), and advocates for syntax and musicality over meaning. He illustrates his theory with examples from Wagner, Bach, Boulez, and Verdi's Requiem, asserting that music produces meaning independently of text. The collection includes essays on Georges Perec, Laura (Riding) Jackson, and the role of text in vocal music. Mathews's style is compared to Stevenson, D. H. Lawrence, and Nabokov, marked by generosity and lightness, yet confronting the void of literary experience. The review emphasizes Mathews's radical critique of factuality and his celebration of fiction as a means to reclaim the reality of the self.