Wittgensteins Mistress - Hardcover

MARKSON, DAVID

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0224026852 ISBN 13: 9780224026857

Publisher: RH Canada UK Dist, 1989

Synopsis

An unusual experimental novel about a women who believes she is alone on the earth. She breaks down the components of her troubled past and so "deconstructs" both her own narrative and the putative "reality" of the history of the world. The author has written a biography of Malcolm Lowry.

About this title

About the Author:

David Markson's novel Wittgenstein's Mistress was acclaimed by David Foster Wallace as "pretty much the high point of experimental fiction in this country." His other novels, including Reader's Block, Springer's Progress, and Vanishing Point, have expanded this high reputation. His novel The Ballad of Dingus Magee was made into the film Dirty Dingus Magee, which starred Frank Sinatra, and he is also the author of three crime novels. Born in Albany, New York, he has long lived in New York City.

Review:

"A work of genius . . . an erudite, breathtakingly cerebral novel whose prose is crystal and whose voice rivets and whose conclusion defies you not to cry." --David Foster Wallace

"Addresses formidable philosophic questions with tremendous wit . . . remarkable . . . a novel that can be parsed like a sentence; it is that well made." --New York Times Book Review

"I can't think of the last time I held my breath when I read a book, waiting for the author to make one slip. Markson is as precise and dazzling as Joyce. His wit and awesome power of observation make this fictional world utterly convincing. I couldn't put this book down. I can't forget it. While Markson himself would deplore the use of a cliche, all I can say is that this book is original, beautiful, and an absolute masterpiece. Anyone who reads it can't think about the world the same way." --Ann Beattie

About this edition

• Publisher: RH Canada UK Dist
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0224026852
• ISBN 13: 9780224026857
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240