The Virginia Quarterly Review
Last Updated on June 7, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 112
As in the cases of Beckett and [Nathalie] Sarraute, two writers whom Brodsky often resembles, the real problem with Detour is the boredom of unraveling its complex texture…. [But] since the novel is very much of a piece, it is difficult to eliminate anything of its labyrinthine shroud without stripping the mummy completely. The more discriminating will conclude that this brilliant but grotesque first effort reveals a very real talent and a very real commitment to experimental writing hiding beneath the interminable subconversation of its Dostoevskian central character.
"Notes on Current Books: 'Detour'," in The Virginia Quarterly Review (copyright, 1979, by The Virginia Quarterly Review, The University of Virginia), Vol. 55, No. 2 (Spring, 1979), p. 59.
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.