William Gaddis: Expanded Edition

In 1989, Steven Moore published the first scholarly study of all three of William Gaddis's novels and since then it has been generally regarded as the best book on this difficult but major writer's work. This revised and expanded edition includes new chapters on the novels Gaddis published after 1989, the National Book Award-winning A Frolic of His Own and the posthumous novella Agape Agape, along with updated introductory and concluding chapters.

This introduction offers a clear discussion of all five of Gaddis's novels, providing essential biographical information, two chapters each on his most significant novels, The Recognitions and J R, and a chapter each devoted to his later three novels. A concluding chapter locates his place in American literature and notes his influence on younger writers. Each chapter focuses on the main themes of each novel and discusses the literary techniques Gaddis deployed to dramatize those themes. Since Gaddis is an erudite, allusive novelist, Moore clarifies his references and explains how they enhance his themes.

Author: Steven Moore
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 02/26/2015
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781628926446
ISBN10: 1628926449
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Criticism | American | General

About the Author
Steven Moore (PhD Rutgers, 1988) is the author of several books and essays on modern literature, including A Reader's Guide to William Gaddis's The Recognitions (1982), as well as the author of The Novel, An Alternative History (2 vols, 2010, 2013). From 1988 to 1996 he was Managing Editor of the Review of Contemporary Fiction/Dalkey Archive Press, and for decades has reviewed books for a variety of periodicals, primarily the Washington Post. He is the co-editor of In Recognition of William Gaddis (1984) and the editor of The Letters of William Gaddis (2013).