Book: A Novel
 First edition | |
| Author | Robert Grudin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Metafiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print Hardcover and paperback |
| Pages | 251pp |
| ISBN | 0-14-023113-7 |
Book: A Novel (1992) is a metafictional novel by Robert Grudin, published in 1992.[1][2] The novel was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize in Literature.[3]
Plot
The story follows English professor Adam Snell as he realizes that someone is trying to kill both him and his book, Sovrana Sostrata, a book about truth. As a metafiction work the novel parodies literary forms—each chapter is told in a different style ranging from traditional linear drama, to newspaper reports, to a playwright's script, to a carefully annotated scholarly work from the 19th century—to the point where the novel's footnotes come alive and literally try to take over the narrative.
Summary
J. Thoreau Marshall, the acting president of the University of Washagon (a portmanteau of Washington and Oregon), receives word that a teacher named Adam Snell has gone missing. Glanda Gazza, the head of the English department, sends fellow teacher Harold Emmons to investigate. Emmons searches Snell's office and finds that copies of Sovrana Sostrata, Snell's novel, have vanished, as well finds that someone attempted to erase files from Snell's computer. Sovrana Sostrata, a novel Snell wrote in which the eponymous heroine asserts her independence and lays bare her sexuality, was a commercial failure and stirred up controversy among the staff at the University. The teachers bicker over Snell and his book's merits at a post-tenure review for him, as the search for the missing man continues. We learn that a professor of literary theory named Frank Underwood has attacked Snell, though no other character knows this. Emmons and Lieutenant Pierce find Snell, gravely injured but alive, in a field of overgrown vegetation on the University campus. Meanwhile a publisher named Harper Nathan discovers an old copy of Sovrana Sostrata at an inn and vows to republish it.
Frank Underwood, who developed an inferiority complex early in life due to his overachieving brother Gerald, grew to hate Snell because of Snell's old-fashioned values and general enjoyment of life, and so Underwood decided to destroy every copy of Sovrana Sostrata, raiding Snell's office and inadvertently attacking Snell in the process. Snell recuperates in the hospital, unable to remember who attacked him. Harper Nathan contacts Snell, as Snell works with Emmons and Pierce to theorize who is the "libricide," the person who has been destroying Snell's book.
Underwood sets out with a gun to finish the job of killing Snell, just as Snell begins to suspect him. Harper comes to visit Snell, and the two of them stake out Underwood's house only to be attacked be Underwood. Snell and Harper escape, and later fall in love. The police set out to arrest Underwood, who flees to Hoboken. Sovrana Sostra becomes a literary sensation, and Underwood dies in failed attempt to blow up several crates of copies of the book,in a warehouse in New York City. Underwood is working on a second book, On Wonderment.
A postscript by Adam Snell states that Robert Grudin himself vanished after writing this book. A second postscript, apparently written by Sovrana herself, reaches out to Snell and tries to convince him that she is the only woman in his life.
Themes
The novel explores the power struggles that exist with academia and the lack of administration support for creativity within universities. They are similar to other works by Robert Grudin because they also place emphasis on liberty, determinism, and other political philosophies.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Grudin, Robert (1993). Book: A Novel. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140231137.
- ^ Bernays, Anne (August 30, 1992). "Book Review : BOOK: A Novel, By Robert Grudin (Random House: $19; 257 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ "Design and Truth: Robert Grudin". yale.edu. Yale University Press. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
- ^ "Robert Grudin". foresight.org. Foresight Institute. Archived from the original on September 24, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
External links
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