- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press (Mar 29 1979)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0801822084
- ISBN-13: 978-0801822087
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,531,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
This title collects ten short stories "full of allusion and linguistic dazzle." The stories take famous people, e.g., Richard Nixon, Leonardo Da Vinci, and James Joyce, and speculates on how they "relate to contemporary life" (LJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
his 2nd book of stories, dedicated to Zukofsky
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
On the Great Ten Thousand Li Wall, begun in the wars of the Spring and Autumn to keep the Mongols who had been camping nearer and nearer the Yan border from riding in hordes on their przhevalskis into the cobbled streets and ginger gardens of the Middle Flower Kingdom, Richard Nixon said: - I think you would have to conclude that this is a great wall. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
On the Great Ten Thousand Li Wall, begun in the wars of the Spring and Autumn to keep the Mongols who had been camping nearer and nearer the Yan border from riding in hordes on their przhevalskis into the cobbled streets and ginger gardens of the Middle Flower Kingdom, Richard Nixon said: - I think you would have to conclude that this is a great wall. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Preposterous that a shoe would go the journey of a foot",
By A Customer
This review is from: Da Vincis Bicycle (Paperback)
If the story is good enough, a story collection can be worth buying simply for the one. "A Field of Snow on a Slope of the Rosenberg," which features German author Robert Walser [whom I haven't read], is that good, but it is not the only story in this marvelous volume worth owning. "A Field of Snow" jumps among 3 times in Walser's life--the presumed present, when he is riding in a hot-air balloon; his stay in a mental institution; and his time as a butler for a "dotty" German lord. In all of these Walser is a compelling character, a man we want to know more about, a man capable of telling us, "The snow is a kind of music. Were I ever to write again, perhaps a poem as deft and transparent as one by a Chinese, I would like to witness to the beauty of the snow. And their books, these people who keep writing, who reads them? It is now a business like any other." Another story, "The Invention of Photography in Toledo," revolves around the rival claims of two possible inventors of photography and is laugh-out-loud funny as the [to us unknown] narrator confuses Toledo, Spain, and Toledo, Ohio. Characters in other stories include Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus, and Richard Nixon [in China, no less]. Davenport's fictional world is constructed out of reality in a way unlike most writers, and thus he can have a character wonder, as Walser does, "Is it not preposterous that a shoe would go the journey of a foot?" Perhaps it is, but it is more preposterous that too many American readers do not know Davenport's work
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not the kind of book you would really want to read,
By A Customer
This review is from: Da Vincis Bicycle (Paperback)
Obscure genius is difficult to comprehend in the first place. This author wants us to explore with him the depths of such genius. Sorry. Not impressed. Nixon should certainly not be included. But if you were going to include mad evil geniuses, why not Adolf Hitler instead of Nixon? And who exactly does the author anticipate will be his readers yearning for this obscure knowledge and insight? Sorry again. I can't answer that question either. I have no idea. My guess is that Guy Davenport will continue to remain an obscure writer desperately searching for an audience. Good luck, guy.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Preposterous that a shoe would go the journey of a foot",
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Da Vincis Bicycle (Paperback)
If the story is good enough, a story collection can be worth buying simply for the one. "A Field of Snow on a Slope of the Rosenberg," which features German author Robert Walser [whom I haven't read], is that good, but it is not the only story in this marvelous volume worth owning. "A Field of Snow" jumps among 3 times in Walser's life--the presumed present, when he is riding in a hot-air balloon; his stay in a mental institution; and his time as a butler for a "dotty" German lord. In all of these Walser is a compelling character, a man we want to know more about, a man capable of telling us, "The snow is a kind of music. Were I ever to write again, perhaps a poem as deft and transparent as one by a Chinese, I would like to witness to the beauty of the snow. And their books, these people who keep writing, who reads them? It is now a business like any other." Another story, "The Invention of Photography in Toledo," revolves around the rival claims of two possible inventors of photography and is laugh-out-loud funny as the [to us unknown] narrator confuses Toledo, Spain, and Toledo, Ohio. Characters in other stories include Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus, and Richard Nixon [in China, no less]. Davenport's fictional world is constructed out of reality in a way unlike most writers, and thus he can have a character wonder, as Walser does, "Is it not preposterous that a shoe would go the journey of a foot?" Perhaps it is, but it is more preposterous that too many American readers do not know Davenport's work
2 of 51 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not the kind of book you would really want to read,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Da Vincis Bicycle (Paperback)
Obscure genius is difficult to comprehend in the first place. This author wants us to explore with him the depths of such genius. Sorry. Not impressed. Nixon should certainly not be included. But if you were going to include mad evil geniuses, why not Adolf Hitler instead of Nixon? And who exactly does the author anticipate will be his readers yearning for this obscure knowledge and insight? Sorry again. I can't answer that question either. I have no idea. My guess is that Guy Davenport will continue to remain an obscure writer desperately searching for an audience. Good luck, guy.
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