[3CY]∎ [PDF] This Is Not a Novel David Markson 9781582431338 Books

This Is Not a Novel David Markson 9781582431338 Books

Download As PDF : This Is Not a Novel David Markson 9781582431338 Books

This Is Not a Novel David Markson 9781582431338 Books

Each of the three novels/non-novels within this don't really contain a story, but they do contain a tone and a theme. They're like a monologue about the dark or strange or silly parts of humanity from some voice of God commenting on the history of mankind. They actually kinda read like a series of tweets, almost. The way each little paragraph is presented creates this eerie tone that makes you want to hear all about the things Markson has to say. It's led me to look up some of the facts/people/works he mentions because of the the way he presents them.


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This Is Not a Novel David Markson 9781582431338 Books Reviews

I loved Reader's Block, with its skeletal narrative and the sad, melancholy little fragments from literary history. Markson managed to evoke these gorgeous, eerie resonances about art, death and the utterly fleeting nature of human experience.

I feel I should have liked "This is Not a Novel," a book which is very much a continuation of those ideas and styles. But...somehow...I really didn't care for this particular Markson. Maybe it's because this one is so death-obssessed (almost every literary anecdote here focuses monotonously on famous writers' causes of death), and the gorgeous reflections on mortality in his other work here become kind of stiff and tediously self-referential.

Writing fiction this delicate seems like a hugely challenging balancing act to pull off. Readers Block made it work to utterly gorgeous effect. This book, for me, just fell flat. That being said, I will still gladly read everything else he wrote like this, the idea behind these books is still hugely powerful and original, even if it doesn't work in every single iteration.
I'm sorry, I just "don't get it." The book obviously isn't a novel because the cover says so, but it's nothing other than random verse and quotes from other authors or thought leaders. Is there an inside joke or a bigger concept I'm missing here? It's not a novel. It's a joke and rip off.
Markson was a genius. Read this and Wittgensteing's Mistress--innovative and profound.
A tough read by a great writer. Markson's . Marks's last four book are cutting edge post-modern, perhaps post-post oder with 'Wittgenstein's Mistress' the jewel of the four-Wittgenstein Mistress, Reader's Block, Vanishing Point and The Last Novel.
Reader's Block is the more poignant of the four with it''s devastating final two words.
an amazing feat of reflection on art and death, so beautifully original and dauntlessly daring.
An amazing narrative strip-tease that addresses identity, taste, autobiography and culture with inventive, concise citations. There's nothing else like Markson's writing.
This is the first book that I have read by David Markson, and had picked this up based on a glowing review. I read it with no real idea what to expect except the general literary brand value Markson has underappreciated and postmodern.

When I realized what I was reading, I smiled, but I expected to hate it by the end. I don't really like overly referential works and I also do not think that poets should only talk to poets. This Is Not A Novel is a series of unconnected sentences that mix quotations, snippets of biography, literary gossip and fleeting thoughts of Writer in a way that creates a flow rather than a narrative. The allusions connect to each other, creating a variety of themes. The more that you know about the works and the artists that Markson selects, the more that you are going to get the cross-references. There is literary snobbery built right in at the core and I actually have no idea what it would be like to read this if you did not get at least (say) 25% of the joke.

I am not actually sure how much I really got about the book. But I am almost embarrassed to say that despite the elitism, I found it absolutely delightful to read.

I spent a fair amount of time scrambling for a reference. Several times I stopped to try and remember where a particularly haunting line of poetry had come from. I reminded myself of several of my favorite poets and poems. I actually laughed out loud several times. There was something overarching about the fear of death. There is something about the relationship between critic and writer. Something about translation. Perhaps even something slightly unreliable in the narration? It was great fun to connect the dots, and I really admired the spirit in which the book was written.

Like I said, this is probably a wonderful book for compulsive readers. Less wonderful if you are just starting your journey in the world of books. It is probably not wonderful at all if you are looking for... well, looking for a novel. Markson does warn you from the start. I am going to file it under literature instead of essays, myself, but nobody will ever accuse it of having a plot.

Markson has moved up my priority list as a writer to explore. I would be curious to read something more substantial by him-- something not quite such an elegant (albeit delightful) conceit.
Each of the three novels/non-novels within this don't really contain a story, but they do contain a tone and a theme. They're like a monologue about the dark or strange or silly parts of humanity from some voice of God commenting on the history of mankind. They actually kinda read like a series of tweets, almost. The way each little paragraph is presented creates this eerie tone that makes you want to hear all about the things Markson has to say. It's led me to look up some of the facts/people/works he mentions because of the the way he presents them.