Gaddis, William
Gaddis, William( 1922–1998),born in New York City, after four years at Harvard and much foreign travel published The Recognitions (1955), a long, elaborate, experimental, satirical novel with settings as diverse as the author's travels, treating a Yankee artist whose original talent is overwhelmed by his career as a copyist of old masters. His second novel, J R (1975, National Book Award), is again a rich parodic treatment of hypocrisy and corruption. The eponymous hero, a sixth-grader, amasses a corporate empire, using the telephone and the mails in questionable legality. The novel nimbly satirizes both public education and standard business practices. His third novel, Carpenter's Gothic (1985), is a far shorter work, less experimental, though employing his trademark disconnective dialogue, and more accessible than the first two. Its themes are the helplessness engendered by dependent love and family disorder. A...
[The entire page is 238 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
