Word: fictions
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...voices and subtle details of time, weather and place. This novel is so complete a distillation of its theme and characters that it leaves a reader wondering how on earth Phillips can follow it up...This brilliant book seems certain to be widely and admiringly reviewed...the most memorable fiction debut of the year to date...
...about whom bad things happen—and I wanted to produce strong feelings through this story of a family trying to suppress all feelings.” This description seems to suggest that Marcus’ new novel, Notable American Women, addresses a not uncommon subject in American fiction...
...make any sense of the bizarre world it describes. But although this slim volume is not an easy read, it would be unfair to simply deny Marcus credit for his sincere attempt to “invent new uses of language.” If the premise of fiction is that an exploration of what was never real can inform our understanding of what is and might be real, then Notable American Women certainly has an intriguing contribution to offer. Unfortunately, Marcus’ inventiveness seems to be a double-edged sword, which means that his contribution is limited...
...give some indication of how its publisher hoped readers would react to the eccentricity of the story and the unconventional way in which it is told. Vintage’s press release declares the novel to be part of its “proud tradition of publishing cutting-edge fiction as trade originals,” trade originals meaning less expensive paperbacks that are more appealing to smaller budgets. And Publisher’s Weekly characterized the novel as part of an effort to “tap into the market that propelled Dave Eggers’ A Heartbreaking Work...
...inclined to take the novel as an object of study—as an example of inventive things you can do with language, or of interesting ways in which you can present an argument against traditional histories concerning women—and not as a deeply moving work of fiction...