{"product_id":"the-letters-of-william-gaddis-revised-edition-9781681375830","title":"The Letters of William Gaddis: Revised Edition","description":"\u003cb\u003eA revelatory collection of correspondence by the lauded author of titanic American classics such as \u003ci\u003eThe Recognitions \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eJ R, \u003c\/i\u003eshedding light on his staunchly private life.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eUPDATED WITH OVER TWO DOZEN NEW LETTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHS\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNow recognized as one of the giants of postwar American fiction, William Gaddis shunned the spotlight during his life, which makes this collection of his letters a revelation. Beginning in 1930 when Gaddis was at boarding school and ending in September 1998, a few months before his death, these letters function as a kind of autobiography, and also reveal the extent to which he drew upon events in his life for his fiction. Here we see him forging his first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Recognitions\u003c\/i\u003e (1955), while living in Mexico, fighting in a revolution in Costa Rica, and working in Spain, France, and North Africa. Over the next twenty years he struggles to find time to write the National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eJ R\u003c\/i\u003e (1975) amid the complications of work and family; deals with divorce and disillusionment before reviving his career with \u003ci\u003eCarpenter's Gothic\u003c\/i\u003e (1985); then teaches himself enough about the law to produce \u003ci\u003eA Frolic of His Own \u003c\/i\u003e(1994). Resuming his lifelong obsession with mechanization and the arts, he finishes a last novel, \u003ci\u003eAgapē Agape\u003c\/i\u003e (published in 2002), as he lies dying. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis newly revised edition includes clarifying notes by Gaddis scholar Steven Moore, as well as an afterword by the author's daughter, Sarah Gaddis.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA 1982 MacArthur Fellow and two-time winner of the National Book Award, \u003cb\u003eWilliam Gaddis\u003c\/b\u003e (1922-1998) was the author of five novels: \u003ci\u003eThe Recognitions\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eJ R \u003c\/i\u003e(both published by NYRB Classics), \u003ci\u003eCarpenter's Gothic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Frolic of His Own\u003c\/i\u003e, and, published posthumously, \u003ci\u003eAgapē Agape\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSteven Moore\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the two-volume survey \u003ci\u003eThe Novel: An Alternative History\u003c\/i\u003e, and has written and edited several books on the works of William Gaddis. He served as the managing editor of Dalkey Archive Press and the \u003ci\u003eReview of Contemporary Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e from 1988 to 1996. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSarah Gaddis\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the novel \u003ci\u003eSwallow Hard\u003c\/i\u003e, and her work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFaultline\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications. She is William Gaddis's daughter.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"New York Review of Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50525766091026,"sku":"9781681375830","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3a942de7-265e-4fd6-af9d-4c445428adb1.jpg?v=1731236838","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-letters-of-william-gaddis-revised-edition-9781681375830","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}