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Two citations (David Foster Wallace/William H. Gass) and a (not so) very...
‘I miss TV,’ Orin said, looking back down. He no longer smiled coolly. ‘The former television of commercial broadcast.’ ‘I do.’ ‘Reason in several words or less, please, for the box after REASON,’...
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A brief note to readers new to Infinite Jest (and a very incomplete list of...
David Foster Wallace’s 1996 novel Infinite Jest poses rhetorical, formal, and verbal challenges that will confound many readers new to the text. The abundance of (or excess of) guides and commentaries...
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A review of Nell Zink’s extraordinary novel The Wallcreeper
The short review is, “Nell Zink’s début novel The Wallcreeper is extraordinary.” But this argument is insufficient, unsupported, you, dear reader, may protest. Why should you spend your hard-earned...
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A riff on J.G. Ballard’s superb degenerate satire High-Rise
With the bad taste of a recentish YAish post-apocalyptish novel in my brain, I riffled through some old sci-fi titles, hoping to find something to hit “reset.” J.G. Ballard’s 1975 novel...
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A review of Millennium People, J.G. Ballard’s novel of middle-class boredom...
Act of Violence, Rene Magritte Early in J.G. Ballard’s 2003 novel Millennium People, our narrator David Markham remarks that “A vicious boredom ruled the world, for the first time in human history,...
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A riff on True Detective Season 2’s neon noir satire
The final episode of the second season of True Detective airs on HBO tomorrow tonight [9 Aug 2015]. Popular and critical consensus seems to decree that this finale can only redeem Nic Pizzolatto’s...
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A conversation about New American Stories, an anthology curated by Ben Marcus...
Over the next few weeks, Biblioklept contributor Ryan Chang and I will be discussing New American Stories, an anthology edited—or maybe “curated” is the right word, although I’m not sure—by Ben...
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Riff on Philip K. Dick’s novel Martian Time-Slip
Untitled, Zdislav Beksinski A colleague dropped by today, burst in my office really, if you’ll forgive the cliché, animated, ecstatic almost—Read this!—he commanded, thrusting a big fat hardbacked Gore...
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The Bus, Paul Kirchner’s marvelous and surreal comic strip trip
For the past year, I’ve run a strip from Paul Kirchner’s cult classic The Bus each Sunday. The strips come from an album posted at Imgur full of high quality scans. I posted the last scan last week....
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A review of Gordon Lish’s novel (spokening) Cess
-What is the book about? -Language. -I mean, like, what’s the plot? -Okay. I’ll try. The narrator is Gordon Lish—a version of Gordon Lish, of course (Gordon!), who tells us about a cryptographic...
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Does Suttree die? | A riff on Cormac McCarthy’s novel Suttree
Does Suttree die? At the end of Cormac McCarthy’s novel Suttree, I mean? Look, before we go any farther, let’s be clear—this little riff is intended for those who’ve read the book. Anyone’s welcome to...
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Fabled horde, legion of horribles | Blood Meridian riff
The captain watched through the glass. I suppose they’ve seen us, he said. They’ve seen us. How many riders do you make it? A dozen maybe. The captain tapped the instrument in his gloved hand. They...
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A bicentennial edition of Jane Austen’s Emma from Penguin Classics
Last month, to mark its bicentennial, Penguin Classics published a deluxe edition of Jane Austen’s novel Emma. It’s a beautiful, hefty book, with deckle edges, French flaps, and a cool cover by Dadu...
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Almost no memory | A review of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant
In Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2015 novel The Buried Giant, a metaphysical mist engulfs sixth-century Britain, clouding the memories of all who inhabit the land. Saxons and Britons alike cannot recall their...
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A conversation about New American Stories, an anthology edited by Ben Marcus...
Biblioklept contributor Ryan Chang and I continue our discussion of New American Stories, an anthology edited—or maybe “curated” is the right word, although I’m not sure—by Ben Marcus. Read the first...
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A review of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel The Lathe of Heaven
The City I Dream, Victor Brauner George Orr is not well. The meek protagonist of Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel The Lathe of Heaven abuses prescription drugs in a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to stop...
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A riff on my favorite ghost story, Roberto Bolaño’s “The Return”
Roberto Bolaño’s short story “The Return” is so good that it has two perfect opening paragraphs: I have good news and bad news. The good news is that there is life (of a kind) after this life. The bad...
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Two graphic novels about Paris reviewed: 750 Years in Paris and The Spectators
Two new(ish) graphic novels from Nobrow, Vincent Mahé’s 750 Years in Paris and Victor Hussenot’s The Spectators, showcase Paris as an enduring site of progression, turbulence, and renewal, both in...
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A review of Paul Kirchner’s surreal sequel, The Bus 2
Paul Kirchner’s cult classic comic strip The Bus originally ran in Heavy Metal from 1979-1985. The (anti-)story of “a hapless commuter and a demonic bus” (as Kichner put it himself in a recent memoir...
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Thirty-point riff on Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a fun entertainment that achieves its goals, one of which is not to transcend the confines of its brand-mythos. SW: TFA takes Star Wars itself (as brand-mythos) as its...
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