JR by William Gaddis
A National Book Award-winning satire about the unchecked power of American capitalism, written more than three decades before the 2008 financial crisis. At the center of J R is J R Vansant, a very average sixth grader from Long Island with torn sneakers, a runny nose, and a juvenile fascination with junk-mail get-rich-quick offers. Responding to one, he sees a small return; soon, he is running a paper empire out of a phone booth in the school hallway. Everyone from the school staff to the municipal government to the squabbling heirs of a player-piano company to the titans of Wall Street and the politicians in Washington will be caught up in the endlessly ballooning bubble of the J R Family of Companies. First published in 1975 and winner of the National Book Award in 1976, J R is an appallingly funny and all-too-prophetic depiction of America's romance with finance. It is also a book about suburban development and urban decay, divorce proceedings and disputed wills, the crumbling facade of Western civilization and the impossible demands of love and art, with characters ranging from the earnest young composer Edward Bast to the berserk publicist Davidoff. Told almost entirely through dialogue, William Gaddis's novel is both a literary tour de force and an unsurpassed reckoning with the way we live now.William Gaddis (1922-1998) is widely regarded as one of America's greatest writers of the twentieth century. He wrote five books throughout his career, winning two National Book Awards, a MacArthur Genius Prize, a Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award, and funds from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is adored and respected for his artistic breakthroughs, unforgettable characters, all-pervasive humor, and intellectual and visionary breadth.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781564784339 |
| ISBN 10 | 1564784339 |
| Title | JR |
| Author | William Gaddis |
| Series | American Literature Series |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Dalkey Archive Press |
| Year published | 2012-02-07 |
| Number of pages | 726 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |