"Merry Christmas," the man threatened

December 25, 2020 3:25 AM

“…anyone who doubts the evidence need only visit this locked room in Croton where lunacy and organization struggle with one another. But after all that’s what both books are about.” from “Lunacy and Organization” in the William Gaddis Papers by Joel Minor [Part 1] [Part 2]

Christmas bonus: The Best Christmas Card Ever

The Gaddis Annotations
Wiliam Gaddis wikipedia

posted by chavenet (2 comments total)

I’ve been reading The Recognitions in an on again off again way for several years now, never advancing very far (a hundred pages, maybe), starting over again. I’m not as strong of a reader as I used to be. My attention span is shot and Gaddis’ work requires lots of your attention, over an extended period (I’ve made several runs at ‘Frolic’ during this time, too.) It’s dense, with lots to track, but my gosh Gaddis writes a hell of a good sentence and now I don’t worry much that I’m not very good at finishing those books. Just dropping in and getting carried along by those sentences for a time is enough.

That annotations site looks really wonderful, so thank you for sharing it here.
posted by notyou at 6:58 AM on December 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

Switch to J R. It’s a page-turner.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 4:17 PM on December 25, 2020 [1 favorite]