Gaddis

[jporter]

>After reading several references to Gaddis, I thought I'd give him a try.
>So I picked up a copy of his latest(?) "A Frolic of His Own" and JR.
>Doesn't he have a keyboard with a quotation mark key? Is this supposed to
>be cute or is there some arcane reason for having pages and pages of
>dialogue mixed together with descriptive passages. I am unable to get
>anything out of this without an excrutiating effort which frankly after a
>hundred pages or doesn't seem worth it. Does one ever get used to not
>knowing if a character is talking or if the author is narrating without
>stopping and going back and rereading from the last -?
>
>Sorry about intruding with WG on TRP's bailiwick, but this is wherte I
>learned of the existence of WG, so...
>
>Are all his books like this? Should I bother to order Recognitions?
>
>grip

He's tough, no question about it. Try Carpenter's Gothic. It's sort of his
Crying of Lot 49.

Just curious: how do you relate to TRP?

Gaddis, by the way, received very mixed reviews for most of his efforts.
He's an acquired taste, for sure...kind of a source book for Western
Civilization through the eyes of a mid-century Harvard type, who may have
flirted with the CIA. I've read that he expected all sorts of awards for
The Recognitions which really bummed him out when they didn't come. I have
not read his latest.

jp

p.s.: I would love to discuss anything at all about Carpenter's Gothic, if
you're interested in my takes.