The Recognitions - Am I alone in thinking this is the greatest book ever?

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This is my introductory post to ilb. I've been pretty active over at ilf, and following bookslut's suggestion I thought I'd throw something into the mix here.

Ok - I understand that Gaddis' novel can be a bit intimidating given its size. But please don't let that stop you. It's worth it. It is impossible to walk away from this novel without some sort of epiphany.

There are several extended sections in the book that are the funniest things I've ever read in a novel, bar none. (The party sequences.)

This book has also been responsible for my searching out, discovering, and reading many many diverse works - esp. writings on alchemy, forgery, obscure forgotten religious tracts, etc.

Also, if you consider when it was written, it is amazing how incredibly prophetic Gaddis was about art, media, society, human relations, morals, etc. It's probably the first novel to criticize the self-help movement that was fairly new at the time.

I may add later a list of books I've read as a result of this novel.

I have to admit that knowing some of Gaddis' references made the book even more enjoyable for me. If you can, track down the excellent Reader's Guide to The Recognitions by Steven Moore.

I've read it three times in ten years. And will do so again.

I implore you, try it. You will not be disappointed.

Anybody have anything to say about it?

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Friday, 13 February 2004 22:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Welcome BabyBuddha! Glad to have you. I know Gaddis/The Recognitions has been discussed before somewhere on ILB-so there are fans here-and i know for a fact that there are threads on him/it on I Love Everything if you want to use their search function. There is an Introduce Yourself thread on ILB too if you feel like it.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 14 February 2004 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Gaddis who?

― SRH (Skrik), Saturday, 14 February 2004 16:47 (twenty-two years ago)

William Gaddis.

Sigh. . .

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Sunday, 15 February 2004 01:05 (twenty-two years ago)

''This book has also been responsible for my searching out, discovering, and reading many many diverse works - esp. writings on alchemy, forgery, obscure forgotten religious tracts, etc.''

such as?

I will try to read this soon. my local library has a copy.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 15 February 2004 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Some books that The Recognitions has directly lead me to:

The Golden Bough James Frazer
The White Goddess Robert Graves
The Waste Land, Four Quartets T.S Eliot
Integration of the Personality, Psychology and Alchemy C. Jung
Love in the Western World, The Devil's Share De Rougemont
Proslogion St. Anselm
The Destruction of the Philosophers al-Ghazzali
The Destruction of the Destruction Averroes
Aesthetics and History in the Visual Arts Bernard Berenson
The Recognitions of Clement
Architecture, Mysticism and Myth William Richard Lethaby
Fox's Book of Martyrs
Magic & Religion Andrew Lang
Magic, Myth and Morals: A Study of Christian Origins Frederick Conybeare
The Waning of the Middle Ages: A Study of the Forms of Life, Thought and Art in France and the Netherlands in the 14th and 15th Centuries J. Huizinga
Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli Ronald Firbank
The Book of the Damned John Fort
The Everlasting Mercy John Masefield

There are others, but those are the major ones. . .

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 03:59 (twenty-two years ago)

sounds like a great list.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 08:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I started reading The Recognitions once but I got bogged down midway and didn't finish it. I think you're right that it's the kind of book you'd enjoy a lot more if you like spending time unraveling hermetic references and allusions. It does have some amusing parts, though I wouldn't exactly call it a laugh riot. I thought some of the themes of art vs. commerce were a bit overly schematic - and many of the characters seemed like allegorical figures rather than real people. But I will probably try and read it again at some point.

― o. nate (onate), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, I have to read this.

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey! Just found out that the Readers Guide to The Recognitions is on-line! Excellent!

Readers Guide to The Recognitions

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 21:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Hi BabyBuddha. I've a copy of The Recognitions floating aroun on one of my shelves - I was actually going to give it to the same friend that I have Gaddis' JR to, since the latter was a big hit. But now I'm thinking that I need to read it first. Thanks.

― I'm Passing Open Windows (Ms Laura), Thursday, 19 February 2004 06:59 (twenty-two years ago)

You're very welcome. I'm thrilled at the thought of possibly inspiring somebody to read it.

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Thursday, 19 February 2004 16:53 (twenty-two years ago)

i have JR siting staring at me from the shelves - will i be able to tackle it? i seem to have such a short attention span these days (blame the net)

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 19 February 2004 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

JR is tough -- tougher than The Recognitions in my opinion. I mean -- an entire novel made up of dialog? Sheesh! It certainly has its brilliant moments, but it doesn't come close to the power of The Recognitions.

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Thursday, 19 February 2004 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

argh i bought the wrong thing thing - i wanted to give myself a relatively easy start!

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 19 February 2004 22:39 (twenty-two years ago)

That was a massive sunufabitch. I'm ashamed to admit I culled it from my shelves before even giving it a shot, and from what's been said here, that looks like it was a mistake.

― writingstatic (writingstatic), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I just opened my copy! MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― Ann Sterzinger (Ann Sterzinger), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 00:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Why would all of you get so excited about reading a book?

Regards,
B. Michael Payne

― B. Michael Payne (This Isnt That), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 02:12 (twenty-two years ago)

My Gaddis experience has been limited to "A Frolic Of His Own". It's themes centered around the absurdity of the legal system, and it included legal briefs in the text. An enjoyable read, though with a fair amount of difficult passages.

― Phastbuck, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 03:45 (twenty-two years ago)

The only Gaddis I've got are "A Frolic of His Own" and "Carpenter's Gothic"... anyone care to suggest which one of those is the better to start with.

I intend to get into "The Recognitions" but (a) I don't have it yet and (b) I've already read one behemoth this last 12 months (Vollmann's The Royal Family), so don't feel I have quite the stamina required for another marathon.

― David Joyner (David Joyner), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 04:07 (twenty-two years ago)

B. Michael --

Why not? What should one get exicted about?

There have been many books that I was very excited about reading. Then there are those that are simply "I'm going to read this book and see if it's any good".

The Recognitions is truly something to be excited about. But hey, that's just my opinion.

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

B.B.:

I'm not cutting you off at the knees or anything here, but I think that you sound like you're clever and perhaps you should be doing things that are more important and affecting than being holed up on the couch reading a book.

Regards,
B. Michael

― B. Michael Payne (This Isnt That), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

The Recognitions is my favorite novel.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 24 February 2004 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

You're right B. Michael. Thanks for showing me the light.

More important --- like writing crude, unfunny comments on a web board, perhaps?

Glad to know Colgate University has such fine students as you.

― BabyBuddha (BabyBuddha), Tuesday, 24 February 2004 18:39 (twenty-two years ago)

eleven months pass...

did Ann Sterzinger finish "The Recognitions"?

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 28 January 2005 05:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I love the cafe sequence--"Apparently she lives right outside Paris--a place called Banlieu."

It probably led me to become interested in forgery and read The ARt Forger's Handbook, by Eric Hebborn. Fascinating book.

― The Mad Puffin, Friday, 28 January 2005 15:19 (twenty-one years ago)

It's true - we need to know.

― the bellefox, Friday, 28 January 2005 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

--"Apparently she lives right outside Paris--a place called Banlieu."
That's very funny.

― Ken L (Ken L), Friday, 28 January 2005 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Pourquoi?

― the bluefox, Friday, 28 January 2005 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

You mean it's not funny?

― Ken L (Ken L), Friday, 28 January 2005 17:55 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't get it.

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 28 January 2005 19:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Doesn't 'banlieu' literally mean 'suburb'? It would be like saying, "Apparently she lives right outside New York, in this place called Suburb."

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, that's why it's funny.

― The Mad Puffin, Friday, 28 January 2005 21:45 (twenty-one years ago)

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 28 January 2005 22:29 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

shit, this just made me remember, i think this is one of the many books my ex refuses to return to me (i don't even know what they all are!).

― Josh (Josh), Monday, 9 May 2005 06:46 (twenty years ago)

five months pass...

ok, so i want to revive this because i've just recently discovered william gaddis and i'm in love -- the recognitions may be the best book i've ever read, at least so far (on page 600-something and counting). i've been devouring all the online info i can find but i've been trying to see if it's possible to scour a copy of steven moore's guide to the recognitions and it seems woefully rare and expensive. anybody got any good leads?

also i'm quite interested to see if anybody did in fact follow up with any of the gaddis references. i'm thinking of taking a peek at foxe's book of martyrs after i'm through with this. and also the recognitions of clement, but this is another one i don't seem to have much luck finding online...

― nick p., Thursday, 27 October 2005 18:20 (twenty years ago)

she returned the books!

― Josh (Josh), Friday, 28 October 2005 00:15 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

This book is the jam, I swear.

― Mr. Que, Thursday, 19 July 2007 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

This thread convinced me, I'm going to go see if I can score a copy of it somewhere.

― Z S, Saturday, 21 July 2007 18:54 (eighteen years ago)

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