Gaddis, William 1922-1998

A frolic of his own : a novel by William Gaddis( Book )
25 editions published between 1994 and 2010 in 4 languages and held by 1,883 libraries worldwide
With the publication of the Recognitions in 1955, William Gaddis was hailed as the American heir to James Joyce. His two subsequent novels, J R (winner of the National Book Award) and Carpenter's Gothic, have secured his position among America's foremost contemporary writers. Now A Frolic of His Own, his long-anticipated fourth novel, adds more luster to his reputation, as he takes on life in our litigious times. "Justice? - You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law." So begins this mercilessly funny, devastatingly accurate tale of lives caught up in the toils of the law. Oscar Crease, middle-aged college instructor, savant, and playwright, is suing a Hollywood producer for pirating his play Once at Antietam, based on his grandfather's experiences in the Civil War, and turning it into a gory blockbuster called The Blood in the Red White and Blue. Oscar's suit, and a host of others - which involve a dog trapped in an outdoor sculpture, wrongful death during a river baptism, a church versus a soft drink company, and even Oscar himself after he is run over by his own car - engulf all who surround him, from his freewheeling girlfriend to his well-to-do stepsister and her ill-fated husband (a partner in the white-shoe firm of Swyne & Dour), to his draconian, nonagenarian father, Federal Judge Thomas Crease, who has just wielded the long arm of the law to expel God (and Satan) from his courtroom. And down the tortuous path of depositions and decrees, suits and countersuits, the most lofty ideas of our culture - questions about the value of art, literature, and originality - will be wrung dry in the meticulous, often surreal logic and language of the law, leaving no party unscathed. Gaddis has created a whirlwind of a novel, which brilliantly reproduces the Tower of Babel in which we conduct our lives. In A Frolic of His Own we hear voices as they speak at and around one another: lawyers, family members, judges, rogues, hucksters, and desperate men (and women) looking for a buck. Above all these is Oscar's voice - the outraged cry of the new anachronism, the self-proclaimed "last civilized man" rendered frail before the behemoth of the law, the servant and warrior of the soul of our century: money.

Carpenter's gothic by William Gaddis( Book )
32 editions published between 1985 and 2003 in 6 languages and held by 1,491 libraries worldwide

The recognitions by William Gaddis( Book )
55 editions published between 1955 and 2011 in 4 languages and held by 1,417 libraries worldwide
A novel of forgery, emotional and spiritual, as well as actual, with background ranging from New York and New England to a monastery outside Madrid.

J R by William Gaddis( Book )
14 editions published between 1971 and 1993 in 3 languages and held by 1,238 libraries worldwide
At the center of this hugely comic tale of "free enterprise" America stands JR--an eleven-year-old capitalist, eagerly following the example of the grasping world around him. Operating through pay phones and post-office money orders, JR inadvertently parlays a shipment of Navy surplus picnic forks, a defaulted bond issue, and a single share of common stock into a vast paper empire embracing timber, mineral and natural gas rights, publishing, and a brewery. At once a novel of epic comedy and a biting satire of the American dream, JR displays the style and extraordinary inventiveness that has made Gaddis one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.

Agapē agape by William Gaddis( Book )
21 editions published between 2002 and 2008 in 5 languages and held by 891 libraries worldwide
A dying man lies in bed thinking about how he will write a book and grumbling about the pending fall of civilization.

JR by William Gaddis( Book )
26 editions published between 1975 and 2011 in 5 languages and held by 454 libraries worldwide
At the center of this hugely comic tale of "free enterprise" America stands JR--an eleven-year-old capitalist, eagerly following the example of the grasping world around him. Operating through pay phones and post-office money orders, JR inadvertently parlays a shipment of Navy surplus picnic forks, a defaulted bond issue, and a single share of common stock into a vast paper empire embracing timber, mineral and natural gas rights, publishing, and a brewery. At once a novel of epic comedy and a biting satire of the American dream, JR displays the style and extraordinary inventiveness that has made Gaddis one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.

The rush for second place : essays and occasional writings by William Gaddis( Book )
8 editions published between 2002 and 2005 in English and held by 340 libraries worldwide

Le dernier acte : roman by William Gaddis( Book )
1 edition published in 1997 in French and held by 32 libraries worldwide

Agonie d'agapè by William Gaddis( Book )
2 editions published between 2003 and 2007 in French and held by 25 libraries worldwide
Chant funèbre d'un vieil écrivain agonisant qui critique la mécanisation des arts et regrette sa jeunesse perdue. Durant plus de cinquante ans, Gaddis a accumulé des notes qu'il distille dans ce monologue dramatique d'un vieillard voulant expliquer au monde que la culture technologique de masse détruit les arts.

Les Reconnaissances by William Gaddis( Book )
2 editions published in 1973 in French and held by 22 libraries worldwide