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William Gaddis
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Agape Agapeby William GaddisISBN 0142437638 (0-14-243763-8)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Agape Agape'Book summary:William Gaddis's final work, Agape Agape, is an effective distillation of his philosophy and a powerful personal statement regarding the state of modern culture. The book is written in the form of a disjointed, stream-of-consciousness monologue delivered by a dying elderly man, himself attempting to complete his final work, a social history of the player piano in America. Desperate to complete his work before the onset of madness or death and fighting the effects of medication, the frantic narrator offers a meandering discussion of his work, which explores technology's artistically stifling influence. The narrator has isolated a particularly profound example of this in the player piano, an artistic invention that alternately replaced the artist. Technology, the narrator argues, has heightened the value of passivity, entertainment, and mediocrity, leading to the impending "collapse of everything, of meaning, of language, of values, of art, disorder and dislocation wherever you look." The narrator fervently claims that only through artistic courage can we achieve understanding, transcendence, and discover the uniting spirit of creativity, a brotherly "agape" love.
As Joseph Tabbi explains in his informative afterword, Agape Agape is the result of years of research and consideration by Gaddis, and the novella explores technological advancement and the response to this advancement, both actual and hypothetical, by such figures as Nietzsche, Walter Benjamin, and Tolstoy. While an impressive work of scholarship, Agape Agape is foremost an emotional decree, Gaddis's final statement of outrage and sadness at our cultural direction and a plea for change. At less than 100 sparsely punctuated pages, the book is an efficient combustion of energy and an affecting depiction of personal and cultural disintegration. At once a condemnation, warning, and affirmation, it reflects Gaddis's apprehensions but also his enduring faith in the power of creation. A worthwhile starting point for newcomers to Gaddis's work, Agape Agape is a memorable end to the career of a gifted thinker. --Ross Doll [via]
Carpenter's Gothicby William GaddisISBN 0141182229 (0-14-118222-9)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Carpenter's Gothic'Book summary:This story of raging comedy and despair centers on the tempestuous marriage of an heiress and a Vietnam veteran. From their "carpenter gothic" rented house, Paul sets himself up as a media consultant for Reverend Ude, an evangelist mounting a grand crusade that conveniently suits a mining combine bidding to take over an ore strike on the site of Ude's African mission. At the still center of the breakneck action is Paul's wife, Liz, and over it all looms the shadowy figure of McCandless, a geologist from whom Paul and Liz rent their house. As Paul mishandles the situation, his wife takes the geologist to her bed and a fire and aborted assassination occur; Ude issues a call to arms as harrowing as any Jeremiad -- and Armageddon comes rapidly closer. Displaying Gaddis's inimitable virtuoso dialogue, and his startling treatments of violence and sexuality, Carpenter's Gothic "shows again that Gaddis is among the first rank of contemporary American writers (Malcolm Bradbury, The Washington Post Book World). [via]
More editions of Carpenter's Gothic:
- Carpenter's Gothic: ISBN 0670697931 (0-670-69793-1)
Hardcover, Daedalus Books - Carpenter's Gothic: ISBN 0140089934 (0-14-008993-4)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA - Carpenter's Gothic: ISBN 0330295519 (0-330-29551-9)
Softcover, Pan Macmillan - Carpenter's Gothic: ISBN 0233979328 (0-233-97932-8)
Hardcover, Andre Deutsch - Carpenter's Gothic: ISBN 0141182229 (0-14-118222-9)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
- Carpenter's Gothic: ISBN 0670697931 (0-670-69793-1)
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A Frolic of His Ownby William GaddisISBN 0684800527 (0-684-80052-7)
Softcover, Touchstone Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Frolic of His Own'Book summary:Perhaps William Gaddis' most accessible novel--though a dense and imposing book--A Frolic of His Own is a masterful work that mocks the folly of a litigious society. The story centers around Oscar Crease, the grandson of a Confederate soldier who avoided a deadly battle by invoking a legal clause that allowed him to hire a substitute and who later became a Supreme Court judge. Oscar writes a play about his grandfather that goes unproduced yet appears as the story behind a big-budget Hollywood film. Oscar sues and is tossed into the vortex of litigation. Meanwhile, almost 20 other lawsuits of varying frivolity swirl about, adding to this satirical and philosophical treat, which won the National Book Award for 1994. [via]
Jrby William GaddisISBN 0140187073 (0-14-018707-3)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Jr'Book summary:A signed 1st edition of the author's scarce second novel. [via]
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The Recognitionsby William GaddisISBN 0140187081 (0-14-018708-1)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Recognitions'Book summary:Wyatt Gwyon's desire to forge is not driven by larceny but from love. Exactingly faithful to the spirit and letter of the Flemish masters, he produces uncannily accurate 'originals' - pictures the painters themselves might have envied. In an age of counterfeit emotion and taste, the real and fake have become indistinguishable; yet Gwyon's forgeries reflect a truth that others cannot touch - cannot even recognize. Contemporary life collapses the distinction between the 'real' and the 'virtual' world, and Gaddis' novel pre-empts our common obsessions by almost half a century. This novel tackles the blurring of perceptual boundaries, The Matrix and Bladerunner pale in comparison to this epic novel. [via]
More editions of The Recognitions:
The Rush for Second Place: Essays and Ocassional Writingsby William Gaddis , Joseph TabbiISBN 0142002380 (0-14-200238-0)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Rush for Second Place: Essays and Ocassional Writings'More editions of The Rush for Second Place: Essays and Ocassional Writings:
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