Particularize Books In Pursuance Of Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright
| Original Title: | Edwin Mullhouse, The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright |
| ISBN: | 0679766529 (ISBN13: 9780679766520) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Prix Médicis Etranger (1975) |
Steven Millhauser
Paperback | Pages: 305 pages Rating: 4.06 | 827 Users | 83 Reviews
Interpretation As Books Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright
I originally read this book in my sophomore year of high school, and remember little about it except that I liked it. Reading it again, it turns out that Edwin Mullhouse is actually one of my favorite books; if I didn't know any better, I'd also venture that it's been a fairly significant influence on my own sporadic attempts at fiction. Huh. There's a lot going on here: a parody of the impulse to biography (since the narrator is a sixth-grader and the subject is his next-door neighbor and playmate, the parody is mostly implicit, so that Millhauser can go in for some straight-played analysis and leave it to the reader to remember who's doing the talking), a pretty sophisticated first-person narrator of uncertain reliability, and so on. Mostly, though, it's a precisely described, regally dictated catalog of childhood memory (that is, personal) and postwar Americana (that is, universal); the idea, which is a dominant and explict theme in Millhauser's recent short fiction, is that language (or, more generally, any kind of art or other vehicle), if utilized to its fullest potential, can grant us access to the totality of experience. We would be able to remember everything, if only we could find the right words for all of it.
Specify Regarding Books Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright
| Title | : | Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright |
| Author | : | Steven Millhauser |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 305 pages |
| Published | : | April 16th 1996 by Vintage (first published 1972) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Novels. Literature. American |
Rating Regarding Books Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright
Ratings: 4.06 From 827 Users | 83 ReviewsCriticism Regarding Books Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright
It seemed like a cute premise, but I did not like much about this book at all. It was difficult for me to read due to the heaps of description and OH MY GOODNESS the lists! If they walk into a store, the author provides a list of every item they saw in the store, sometimes taking up more than a whole page. It's not cute, it's completely useless, unnecessary, and incredibly annoying. Also, I won't spoil it, but WTF - that ending?! That's all kinds of messed up.I recall reading this book sometime in the late 70s; a recommendation of a college classmate addicted to novels. The subtitle sets up the novels premise: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943 1954 by Jeffrey Cartwright. One notes that this American writer might be no more than 11 years old at his death, and I wonder, Just what could this wunderkind write that might earn him the honor of a biography? The perception that Millhauser is presenting an elaborate farce is further supported by
I originally read this book in my sophomore year of high school, and remember little about it except that I liked it. Reading it again, it turns out that Edwin Mullhouse is actually one of my favorite books; if I didn't know any better, I'd also venture that it's been a fairly significant influence on my own sporadic attempts at fiction. Huh.There's a lot going on here: a parody of the impulse to biography (since the narrator is a sixth-grader and the subject is his next-door neighbor and
My god but Millhauser does run on. I was charmed at first by the Nabokovian curlicues but by about page 145 this thing started to feel like Ben Folds' proverbial brick. Buddy! Enough already! I can't finish your fucking book!
I've been a big fan of Martin Dressler and of many of his one-element-is-fantastical short stories, and in this one, his first, I think we can see pretty well where the later stuff comes from. Published in 1972, when Millhauser was in his late 20s, it's a pretty remarkable book, studied, careful, precise, if a little slow. The one fantastical element in this one is that a 12-year-old has total memory recall essentially from birth and that he can write like a very talented adult. But once you
Boring. I don't understand why Jeffrey is so much attracted to Edwin. He seems like an ordinary kid to me, especially a selfish and grumpy one. I find Jeff's devotion to Edwin rather creepy.I also find it weird that Jeff doesn't show grief and gets to work on a biography right after Edwin's death.And why should other young characters die suddenly as well? Are their deaths necessary in the story?This book is creepy.
Edwin Mullhouse (insert as many ellipses as you'd like, for it is a long title indeed), Steven Millhauser's first novel, is, to my surprise, a far better novel than Portrait of a Romantic, his secondthough I'm not sure I can explain why or how, exactly, since they are highly similar in style (elaborate), setting (mid-century small town Connecticut), subject matter (childhood), and plot (negligible). Okay, technically this novel is about childhood, while Portrait is about adolescence; that is one
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