Cartesian Sonata And Other Novellas (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
James Wood, critic and finger-drummer extraordinaire, nails the problem with Gass’s style in this quartet of novellas from 1998 (reprinted by Dalkey in 2009)—Gass stretches the credulity of his characters’ interior narration by bestowing them with the same stylish gifts as Gass the narrator. It doesn’t stop each novella excelling on its own terms but for a consistent stylistic trick, this problem bobs to the surface all too often (for this reader). The title novella is the oldest (dating to the 60s) and most inscrutable: a baffling musical structure obfuscates for the first forty or so pages before a blackly moving tale of an abusive husband emerges from the gloaming. ‘Bed & Breakfast’ reads like an homage to the nouveau roman movement’s obsession with interiors and their imprint on consciousness—a travelling accountant flits from B&B to B&B, doting upon the rooms’ contents (as metaphors for loneliness and the harsh self-sacrifice of fundamentalist Christians?). ‘Emma Enters a Sentence of Elizabeth Bishop’s’ is structured around the sentence: The slow fall of ash far from the flame, a residue of rain on morning grass, snow still in air, wounds we have had, dust on the sill there, dew, snowflake, scab: light, linger, leave, like a swatted fly, trace to be grieved, dot where it died. This is a beautiful novella dripping with sweat, murder and a deep, gasping loneliness. ‘The Master of Secret Revenges’ is more in the comic and philosophical mode of The Tunnel: Luther is a semi-fascistic terror out to wreak revenge on all those who have slighted him by spreading his propaganda pamphlet ‘An Immodest Proposal,’ which inverts Swift’s child-eating satire into a more cold-blooded medieval pissing torture program. So: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I still have an immense hard-on for Gass.
So I'm maybe committing some kind of sin by reviewing this before I finish the last novella, but here goes anyway...These pieces are beautifully written but difficult to read in a way that I find grating rather than gratifying. Gass has a kind of Faulkner-ian cold, airy distance from the reader that makes it hard to get really immersed in the narrative. Much of the process of reading this book has felt like attending a recital. Gass is performing in front of you rather than pulling you into the reading experience, standing on stage and showing you what a good writer he is and expecting you to sit quietly and respect his talent. He's not wrong about his talent, mind you. His prose is beautiful and the structure of the book so far is exquisite, but I simply can't get fully behind a book that feels so unengaging.
What do You think about Cartesian Sonata And Other Novellas (2000)?
"Emma Enters a Sentence of Elizabeth Bishop's" and "Bed & Breakfast" are gorgeous, haunting pieces of writing, and the title story is worth it alone for Gass's description of clairvoyancy on p. 36-37 ("Space wasn't space to Ella..."). My feelings on "The Master of Secret Revenges" are mixed, but I can't deny the sly and lasting power of what Gass is able to merely hint at through his prose, and the service done to his characters as a result, the feel of which is totally and completely his own.
—James
Alright so second time around I'm having a better time, in "Bed and Breakfest" a man checks in the a B&B and he finds himself lost in the all the paintings,old photos, and chiars, beds, all of which are old and sort of haunts him and affects him, Gass is a writer of fine prose,the title story still escapes me, but Gass does something fucking brillant, something that hasn't been done yet. If you know the name William H. Gass than you no doubt have fine taste in books, you realize that there's more to a book than just plot,that a work of fiction can break the rules and make other books that fallow the rules somehow seem lesser even. So is it fair to write a review having only read half a novel, I don't know, but this my third and half(read a little of The Tunnel)by H. Gass. I would take leap and say that this falls a little short from his other novels, but it's still better written than most anything you'll read in your whole life. William H. Gass is a master of words with mind that's in kin with Palto. "Cow? Willis & Hobrat-money May,Edna, Nona & Margaret-gas iron & rug Gas iron? Wonderful...the names were...the bride's especially Fae...Fae...Ar-line. Not Arlene. My." that's a sip. thristy still. Of course you are, now read this book.
—Rayroy
This is why I read. I'm a sucker for Gass' wordplay. I appreciate the continuity running through the stories. Pretty sure these must be read in the order presented. I plan to wade through "The Tunnel" next year.Cartesian SonataSpooky, creepy and funny. Mind and matter in abject isolated solo existence. Bed and BreakfastRedemption by bric-a-brac. I couldn't avert the horrifying details as Walter Riffaterre is engulfed by them.Emma Enters a Sentence of Elizabeth Bishop'sThis one will stay with me. I feel completely desaturated.The Master of Secret RevengesIs there some duality in here that reminds me of Gaddis?
—Linda Hayashi
