After having published two novels by 1958, John Barth sat in front of a fireplace for two years, without moving or budging or repositioning himself for comfort; when asked what he was doing, the young man would respond, "Thinking." Come the end of this lengthy meditative period, a novel named "The

Abstract, Absurd, Beautiful , Experimental, Funny, Layered, Pioneering, Postmodern fiction, Sprawling

In 1990, Richard Nixon released "RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon," an account of his life that was praised for its unexpected candor and introspection; but thirteen years earlier a far more convincing narrative, also told by Nixon, was divulged in Robert Coover's "The Public Burning." The novel, wh

Absurd, Deconstructive, Electronic, Funny, Hallucinatory, Pioneering, Postmodern fiction, Psychological

It should seem patently absurd that Donald Barthelme is currently undergoing a period of rediscovery. It was only in 1963 that his first prose piece was published, and by the mid-60s he had established himself as a writer – particularly of short stories – of tremendous potential, having generat

Abstract, Absurd, Collage, Experimental, Fleeting, Pioneering, Playful, Pop, Postmodern fiction

One of the preeminent figures of contemporary literature, David Foster Wallace has assembled the variety of his influences – Jorge Luis Borges, John Barth, Robert Coover, Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon – and saved them from the self-immolation it seemed that academia was increasingly drawing them t

Anxiety, Citational, Complex, Expansive, Layered, Postmodern fiction, Sincere, Slangy, Smart, Subtle, Witty