- Paperback: 956 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Books; New edition edition (13 Nov 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843541661
- ISBN-13: 978-1843541660
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 5.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 233,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Wyatt Gwyon's desire to forge is not driven by larceny but from love. Exactingly faithful to the spirit and letter of the Flemish masters, he produces uncannily accurate 'originals' - pictures the painters themselves might have envied. In an age of counterfeit emotion and taste, the real and fake have become indistinguishable; yet Gwyon's forgeries reflect a truth that others cannot touch - cannot even recognize. Contemporary life collapses the distinction between the 'real' and the 'virtual' world, and Gaddis' novel pre-empts our common obsessions by almost half a century. This novel tackles the blurring of perceptual boundaries, The Matrix and Bladerunner pale in comparison to this epic novel.
About the Author
WILLIAM GADDIS (1922-98) was one of the greatest writers in twentieth-century America. He wrote five novels and won two National Book Awards, for JR (1976) and for A Frolic of His Own (1995). His other landmark novels include: The Recognitions (1955) and Carpenter's Gothic (1985). Agapc Agape was published by Atlantic in 2002.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Recognitions is an amazing work of literature, as funny
as it is moving and as confounding as it is entertaining.
Gaddis work is often compared to Thomas Pynchon, perhaps because
of his tendency to mix absurd character names and slapstick comedy amidst
serious situations. But whereas Pynchon's work is mostly plot driven, with
characters simply providing the outlet for the author's ideas, Gaddis is
brilliant at creating realistic characters whose words and ideas mainatin
the momentum of the work.
In almost every passage of The Recognitions, there is some glorious pay off,
some action or statement that you'll read again and again so as not to forget it,
only to move on to the next passage and be more throroughly moved. Easily the most
rewarding reading experience I have had in years.
as it is moving and as confounding as it is entertaining.
Gaddis work is often compared to Thomas Pynchon, perhaps because
of his tendency to mix absurd character names and slapstick comedy amidst
serious situations. But whereas Pynchon's work is mostly plot driven, with
characters simply providing the outlet for the author's ideas, Gaddis is
brilliant at creating realistic characters whose words and ideas mainatin
the momentum of the work.
In almost every passage of The Recognitions, there is some glorious pay off,
some action or statement that you'll read again and again so as not to forget it,
only to move on to the next passage and be more throroughly moved. Easily the most
rewarding reading experience I have had in years.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Gaddis' masterpiece has been regarded as "impenetrable" since its late 50s publication. Time to revisit it nearly 40-years later. One of it's dozens of themes is a New York art forger who turns out perfect, bogus, "newly discovered" Van Eycks in his loft. The forgeries pass the most intense scrutiny by art- and Van Eyck scholars and are sold for vast sums. The forger and his dealer gradually realize the single flaw: No 20th century person can recreate a 17th century perception.
Similarly, no intelligent 1999 reader will recreate the wrong-headed obtuseness of 1950s reviewers. Beside being a masterpiece, Gawd, it's a hilarious skewering of pretentiousness.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is an incredible novel for a thirty-year old; the problem is that Gaddis, as a first-timer, tries too hard in spots. The characters are too articulately inarticulate, the mythological references too ostentatiously used, and the mood is sometimes lost when the prose is piled on it. However, it has the subtlest humor and the harshest satire of any American book. Many passages are perfectly pitched, (the scene with Wyatt's breakdown is funny!), and the characters are a bunch of lost souls desperately seeking...something.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
wtf!
My order just arrived and I'm shocked! Instead of a proper book, I only received what looks like a laser-printed copy of a mediocre scan. Not even a single blank page at the end. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2007 by yannis A
Modern American Literature Begins Here
absolutely the greatest book i have ever read (and probably the greatest mr. pynchon ever came across too) chock full of erudition, wit, arcane knowledge and pure poetry. Read more
Published on 22 July 1999
The most important book of the 20th century
"The Recognitions" is the most important book of the past 100 years. William Gaddis was America's Joyce, America's Dickens. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 1998
A World Masterpiece
If The Sound and the Fury, Ulysses, and The Master and Margarita stand as the three greatest novels before 1950, then Cormac McCarthy's Suttree, Marquez's One Hundred Years of... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 1998
too beautiful for words
When asked to explain The Recognitions, to cover all its unforgettable characters, exceptional dialogue, or breathtaking prose, you find yourself at a loss for words... Read more
Published on 8 Dec 1998
a masterwork
"The Recognitions" is Gaddis's homage to Joyce and his writing. A highly complex, symbolic, hilarious and moving novel, this book is the start and end of the Ring Cycle... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 1998
awesome
One of the all time great American novels. This is the Ring Cycle of American novels.
Published on 23 Aug 1998
A Mammoth Achievement
One of the great American novels. A splendid book of tremendous symbolism, rich texture, humour and insight. It is also a homage to "Ulysses". Read more
Published on 22 Aug 1998
The finest American novel
This novel should be de rigeur reading in all American colleges. While not a perfect novel, it has come as close as any I've ever read. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 1998
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