Book – A Novel

Book: A Novel
Author Robert Grudin
Country United States
Language English
Genre Metafiction
Publisher Penguin Books
Publication date
1992
Media type Print Hardcover and paperback
Pages 251pp
ISBN 0-14-023113-7

Book: A Novel (1992) is a metafictional novel by Robert Grudin.

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.

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.[1]

Reception

The novel was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize in Literature.[2]

See also

References

  1. "Robert Grudin". foresight.org. Foresight Institute. Archived from the original on Sep 24, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  2. "Design and Truth: Robert Grudin". yale.edu. Yale University Press. Retrieved April 2, 2011.

External links


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