NP--Coover's Grand Hotels

[Richard Romeo]

Hey all--just got my copy of Coover's take on the Grand Hotels of Joseph 
Cornell--really wonderful stuff...lots of gooeey-richness within these 64 
pgs.

"Robert Coover takes us through the looking-glass of Joseph Cornell's boxes 
into a world of "Grand Hotels" we never dreamed of. Rooms are accessed via 
ferris wheel. They open onto night voyages, crystal cages or sand fountains. 
They lead us back to childhood, to forgotten games, to sleeping princesses 
who do not await a prince and, finally, home, poor heart. Funny and wistful 
by turns, these brilliant vignettes explore the nature of desire and the 
melancholy of fulfilment. As the author says, the book is also intended as 
an "architectural portrait of the artist," with biographical information 
"built into the construction of the text like girders, brickwork, or decor."
Coover's recent novels are Ghost Town (1998), Briar Rose and John's Wife 
(both 1996), Pinocchio in Venice (1991), and Gerald's Party (1985). He has 
received numerous honors, including the William Faulkner Award, the Brandeis 
Citation for Fiction, the Rea Award for the Short Story, as well as 
fellowships from the Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations. He lives in 
Providence, Rhode Island, and teaches electronic and experimental writing at 
Brown University."


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