''Carpenter's Gothic'' is the title of the third novel by

William Gaddis William Thomas Gaddis, Jr. (December 29, 1922 – December 16, 1998) was an American novelist. The first and longest of his five novels, ''The Recognitions'', was named one of TIME magazine's 100 best novels from 1923 to 2005 and two othe ...

, published in 1985 by

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. The title connotes a "Gothic" tale of haunted isolation, in a milieu stripped of all pretensions. Gaddis's second-shortest novel, ''Carpenter's Gothic'' relates the words and occasional actions, in one house, of an ex-soldier, confederate apologist, and pathological liar; his neglected and ineffectual wife; and a visitor with a mysterious past who resembles in many ways Gaddis himself. The book is notable mainly for its strict fugue-like nature, as each character pursues his own themes in conversation and in action, often without reference to anything said or done by the others. __NOTOC__

Reception and criticism

Writing for the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'', Greg Gerke referred to the book as " ittingperfectly with the other three novels as one long scroll of words." Gerke refers to the other Gaddis books ''

The Recognitions ''The Recognitions'' is the 1955 debut novel of US author William Gaddis. The novel was initially poorly received by critics. After Gaddis won a National Book Award in 1975 for his second novel, ''J R'', his first work gradually received new ...

'', ''

J R ''J R'' is a novel by William Gaddis published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1975. In the story, a schoolboy secretly amasses a fortune in penny stocks. ''J R'' won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1976.A Frolic of His Own ''A Frolic of His Own'' is a book by William Gaddis, published by Poseidon Press in 1994. It was his fourth novel, and it won his second U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...

reviewed the novel favorably in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', highlighting, among other things, Gaddis' ability to create different "voices" and his use of different dialogue. Ozick referred to the work as "...an unholy landmark of a novel - an extra turret added on to the ample, ingenious, audacious Gothic mansion William Gaddis has slowly been building in American letters."

''The New York Times'' attribution

In a mention of the book, ''

'' credited the work to another American writer and novelist,

William H. Gass William Howard Gass (July 30, 1924 – December 6, 2017) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, critic, and philosophy professor. He wrote three novels, three collections of short stories, a collection of novellas, and seven vol ...

. Gass wrote a humorous, though critical, letter to the editor about the mistake, and concluded by asking that the ''Times'' attribute John Hawkes' then-upcoming novel '' Adventures in the Alaskan Skin Trade'' to him as well.

Quote

* "Finally realize you can't leave things better than you found them the best you can do is try not to leave them any worse . . ." (p. 230)

External links

Annotations to ''Carpenter's Gothic'' at williamgaddis.org

References

1985 American novels Postmodern novels Novels by William Gaddis Viking Press books American gothic novels PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction-winning works {{postmodern-novel-stub