Phosphor in Dreamland (American Literature) - Softcover

Ducornet, Rikki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564780848 ISBN 13: 9781564780843

Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press, 1995

Synopsis

Wildly comic, erotic, and perverse, Rikki Ducornet’s dazzling novel, Phosphor in Dreamland, explores the relationship between power and madness, nature and its exploitation, pornography and art, innocence and depravity.

Set on the imaginary Caribbean island of Birdland, the novel takes the form of a series of letters from a current resident to an old friend describing the island’s 17th-century history that brings together the violent Inquisition, the thoughtless extinction of the island’s exotic fauna, and the amorous story of the deformed artist-philosopher-inventor Phosphor and his impassioned, obsessional love for the beautiful Extravaganza.

The Jade Cabinet, Ducornet’s previous novel (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), was described by one reviewer as “Jane Austen meets Angela Carter via Lewis Carroll.” Phosphor in Dreamland can be described as Jonathan Swift meets Angela Carter via Jorge Luis Borges. This is Ducornet at her magical best.

About this title

About the Author:

Rikki Ducornet was born in New York and has lived in North Africa, South America, Canada and France. Her work as an illustrator first came to the attention of the Canadian book trade in 1974 with the publication of Susan Musgrave's "Gullband". In 1983, the Porcupine's Quill commissioned Rikki to illustrate an edition of Jorge Luis Borges' "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius".

Rikki is the author of three short-story collections, seven books of poetry, and seven novels, including "The Fan-Maker's Inquisition" and "The Jade Cabinet". She is also a painter whose work has been exhibited widely. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.

From Library Journal:

In Ducornet's (The Jade Cabinet, LJ 2/1/93) fifth novel, Australia meets Birdland (an imaginary Caribbean island), the 20th century intersects with the 17th, and magical realism confronts a lit-crit parody of famed satirist Jonathan Swift. This engaging novel, although extremely well written, lacks the tension and plot-driven engine that will keep you awake all night. But for those interested in a more playful pace, it details the invention of the ocularscope (an early forerunner of the camera) and the brutal slaying of the last loplop on earth, a bird that begged for mercy in an almost human-sounding voice. While moving from brilliant fantasy to brilliant fantasy?my favorite is the arboreal barbershop?this novel's prose comes alive with images. Judging from her skill with language displayed here, it's obvious that Ducornet is also a poet. The characters?Se?or Fantasma; his strongman, Yahoo Clay; the professor, Tardanza; the boy-child, Pulco; the poet, Phosphor; and his bride, Extravaganza?represent archetypes. "If Fantasma was cursed with anxiety, Yahoo Clay was damned with rage." This is an adventure tale?the exploration of Birdland?and also a love story: Phosphor and Extravaganza, newly married, share their dreams each morning upon awakening. Indeed, the whole book is an inquiry into the nature of dreaming. And, as Professor Tardanza wisely acknowledges, "Dreams are the key to the human soul." Recommended for larger fiction collections.?Doris Lynch, Bloomington P.L., Ind.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1564780848
• ISBN 13: 9781564780843
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192