Modernism continues (long and sort of boring)

Dan Schmidt · 27 Oct 1999, 14:28 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: Dan Schmidt <dfan at harmonixmusic.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) Modernism continues (long and sort of boring)
Date: 27 Oct 1999 14:28:02
Message-ID: <urth-v0028-0274 at digest.urth.net>
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"Alice Turner" <pei047 at attglobal.net> writes:

| When I was quite young, the hot modernist book was -The
| Recognitions- by Wm Gaddis, which, thank goodness, I did not attempt
| to read at the time. Much later, after I became interested in church
| history, I did read it (with a pony, I confess) and now I love it in
| a qualified way. But it's a hard read, then and now, and for people
| *not* interested in church history or the abstract New York School
| of art, maybe not worth it. I'll bet a lot of the younger people on
| this list haven't even heard of it. They *have* heard of
| D.F. Wallace's -Infinite Jest- the hot modernist book of the moment,
| but, for similar reasons (not church history, difficulty), the next
| generation very probably will not have.

I administrate the David Foster Wallace email list, and I know a lot
of people there, at least, have heard of THE RECOGNITIONS, if not read
it.  I read it back when I was twenty or so and enjoyed it a great
deal; I keep on meaning to go back to it now that I have the Reader's
Guide.

Gaddis did get some recognition for winning a National Book Award for
A FROLIC OF HIS OWN a few years back (which is the best book to start
with, in my opinion).  And for dying, unfortunately.

I am sure that a lot of people here would find Gaddis interesting for
the same reasons that they like Wolfe.

--=20
Dan Schmidt | http://www2.thecia.net/users/dfan/

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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