Half man, half woman, half Mexican, half Texan, Arcadio?s tale is extraordinary. Mixing rural Texas vernacular with Spanish and street slang, it tells the story of deserted child sold to a brothel, who becomes a sideshow freak in a travelling circus, a youth relentlessly searching for his family. Goyen?s last book, it is a moving finale to his life and work.
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About the Author
William Goyen was born in Trinity, Texas, in 1915 and died in 1983. His novels include In a Farther Country, Arcadio, and Come, the Restorer. Goyen was a master of the short story and a selection, Had I a Hundred Mouths, is also published by Serpent's Tail.
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Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
William Goyen's Arcadio is worth the challenge it provides.
30 Oct 1998
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Texas writer William Goyen's last novel, _Arcadio_, a first-person account of a hermaphrodite's swan song, provides readers with a challenge every bit worth the effort. If one has read other Goyen (House of Breath, stories from Had I a Hundred Mouths), then _Arcadio_ will satisfy the curiosity about how Goyen's fiction "ended." If one has never read a Goyen work, then this will surely inspire.
The novel tells the story of Arcadio, a freak by anyone's (including his own) standards; Goyen explores boundaries of sexuality, ethnicity, and language in the tale as Arcadio tells his story of existing in a world that categorizes people. It is tragic comedy or a comic tragedy, depending on the reader's viewpoint.
Goyen displays his talents as a student of human nature and his art with capturing authentic language. Arcadio's broken English (Spanglish), stream-of-consciousness style, aids readers in entering his tormented mind.
This book is for anyone who wants a good, but compelling read.
Trivia fact: Goyen's widow is Emmy-award-winning actress Doris Roberts (of Everybody Loves Raymond fame).
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
a classic of style and boundary-breaking
22 Oct 2004
By Robert Nagle
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I'm a Texan who usually avoids reading Texan writers, but Goyen's work is thrilling, amazing, evocative, fast-paced and also very sensual and religious/spiritual.
This is one of those reviews I write when I discover to my horror that a great work of literature has received no comments on amazon (I've done this before for Felipe Alfau, Marco Vassi and Nina Berberova). It's been 10-15 years since I've read this book, and I remember next to nothing about it other than being utterly swept away by it. (I got it as a freebie when subscribing to Triquarterly--editor Reginald Gibbons seems to be a big Goyen fan also; his press also republished House of Breath). It's time to buy another copy!
He's unlike any Texas writer I know, esp in terms of imagery and style. Maybe Cormac McCarthy, but without the Wild West claptrap in McCarthy (don't get me wrong--I like it!) and much more accessible.
This is first class stuff.
This is one of those reviews I write when I discover to my horror that a great work of literature has received no comments on amazon (I've done this before for Felipe Alfau, Marco Vassi and Nina Berberova). It's been 10-15 years since I've read this book, and I remember next to nothing about it other than being utterly swept away by it. (I got it as a freebie when subscribing to Triquarterly--editor Reginald Gibbons seems to be a big Goyen fan also; his press also republished House of Breath). It's time to buy another copy!
He's unlike any Texas writer I know, esp in terms of imagery and style. Maybe Cormac McCarthy, but without the Wild West claptrap in McCarthy (don't get me wrong--I like it!) and much more accessible.
This is first class stuff.
1 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I didn't read this book.
9 Feb 2000
By Stan Xhiao
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
But it came up when I searched for the term "family circus." Is the author a ruffiano?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
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