When The Cyclist Conspiracy appeared two decades ago, it was considered a kind of cultural excess, a provocation that stirred the literary audience of the time. It is likely that it still does.
Masterfully intertwining the threads of waking and dreams into the fabric of present, past and future, Basara's novel leads the reader into depths of reflection never imagined possible. Rising from the musty cellar of a local library in the backwaters of western Serbia, the author guides us through a fantastic maze of (fictitious or factual?) documentation to one of the greatest held secrets of all times: an ancient Brotherhood, meeting and planning in the realm beyond sleep, are guiding the destiny of humankind into the arms of Providence - from the future. Drawing the reader into a broad circle of eccentric characters, historical and literary figures (from Charles the Hideous to Nietzsche, Sherlock Holmes and Freud), Basara calls into question the unities of space and time, proving once and for all a truth that we all know in our heart of hearts: History is in the eye of the beholder.
'Some books grow old with years, some are rejuvenated, some remain the same. But extremely rare are those that manage to force reality to change and adapt to what is written in them. Some twenty years ago The Cyclist Conspiracy seemed like postmodern brick-a-brack. Today, it is a historical record that becomes more and more true with every new day. '
David Albahari
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„Fama o biciklistima je istovremeno istorijski kalambur i izuzetno ozbiljna analiza istorijskih zbivanja, filozofsko-religijski traktat i parodija ideološkog mišljenja, mešavina stvarnog i nestvarnog, poigravanje sa celokupnim književnim nasleđem i razbijanje pripovednih strategija. I to je samo deo onoga što se nalazi u almanahu posvećenom ‘tajni’ Evanđeoskih biciklista Ružinog krsta… Neke knjige vremenom stare, neke se podmlađuju, neke ostaju neizmenjene. Samo retke, a njih je doista mali broj, uspevaju da primoraju stvarnost da se promeni i prilagodi onome što u tim knjigama piše.“ David Albahari