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Lambert
12-17-2007, 10:32 AM
Love 'The Tunnel' and his essays are just amazing. Anyone here read 'Omensetter's Luck'? Any good?
ClickForth
12-18-2007, 08:01 PM
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Oomoo
12-22-2007, 04:40 AM
William H. Gass and William Gaddis are two authors that are supposedly my kind of thing, but their books are nowhere to be found where I live and very expensive on Amazon. The Recognitions I've heard described as Catcher in the Rye for grown ups, and that sounds interesting even though I'm not a big Salinger fan; but who would you compare Gass' style to? Does he have tons of obscure allusions?

Thanks
Lambert
12-22-2007, 10:52 AM
William H. Gass and William Gaddis are two authors that are supposedly my kind of thing, but their books are nowhere to be found where I live and very expensive on Amazon. The Recognitions I've heard described as Catcher in the Rye for grown ups, and that sounds interesting even though I'm not a big Salinger fan; but who would you compare Gass' style to? Does he have tons of obscure allusions?

Thanks

Gass's style is pretty unique. 'The Tunnel' is written with a lot of cadence and even when the content is obscure and difficult, the prose is still musical. He has a huge amount of influences apparently, possibly because he has read
so much and written so many authors in his essays. I've heard him compared to Gertrude Stein and it's not an inaccurate comparison, I'd say.

Gaddis is another writer I adore. But I wouldn't consider 'The Recognitions' 'Catcher in the Rye' for grown-ups (don't particularly like Salinger myself). 'The Recognitions' is basically where most contemporary/post-modern American fiction really started (Franzen, David Foster Wallace, Delillo were all influenced by Gaddis) . It's mostly about authenticity both in Religion and Culture.
Oomoo
12-22-2007, 04:06 PM
Oh, thanks. Read anything else by Gaddis? This one's a monster, and I prefer to familiarize myself with the author before I try it.
Lambert
12-22-2007, 05:56 PM
Oh, thanks. Read anything else by Gaddis? This one's a monster, and I prefer to familiarize myself with the author before I try it.

After 'The Recognitions', Gaddis' style took a huge turn. 'JR', his second novel, is written almost entirely in dialogue, with only scant identification of the speaker. I've started 'JR' and though it can be trying at times , it's an excellent satire on capitalism. It's a bit of a monster as well though: just over 700 pages.
ClickForth
12-22-2007, 06:57 PM
okokok