The Tunnel (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: William H. Gass
- First Published: 1995
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Metafiction
- Subjects: Family or family life, Philosophy or philosophers, Psychology or psychologists, Autobiography, Marriage, Prejudices or antipathies, Antiheroes, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Truth, Nazism or Nazis, Higher education, Life, philosophy of, Learning or scholarship
- Locales: Indiana
The Tunnel is told in the first person by Professor Kohler, who is seized by some strange paralysis of the soul when he tries to finish his book and instead writes the contorted story of his own embittered life. Kohler realizes that he is engulfed with rage, and he is determined to mine his past in an attempt to expiate it. He is the only child of a disappointed mother whose dreams center on her sulky, obstinate son and an angry, bigoted father.
Time in the novel loops back and forth between personal history and world history as Professor Kohler (whose name means...
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See Also:
William H. Gass (Cyclopedia of World Authors)William H. Gass (Short Fiction)William H. Gass (Long Fiction)
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