wtf!, 06 Dec 2007
My order just arrived and I'm shocked! Instead of a proper book, I only received what looks like a laser-printed copy of a mediocre scan. Not even a single blank page at the end. And a flimsy cover printed on 120gr paper! Is this supposed to be the real "Atlantic books" edition? I feel so cheated...

It's good, 18 Aug 1999
This is an incredible novel for a thirty-year old; the problem is that Gaddis, as a first-timer, tries too hard in spots. The characters are too articulately inarticulate, the mythological references too ostentatiously used, and the mood is sometimes lost when the prose is piled on it. However, it has the subtlest humor and the harshest satire of any American book. Many passages are perfectly pitched, (the scene with Wyatt's breakdown is funny!), and the characters are a bunch of lost souls desperately seeking...something.

Modern American Literature Begins Here, 23 Jul 1999
absolutely the greatest book i have ever read (and probably the greatest mr. pynchon ever came across too) chock full of erudition, wit, arcane knowledge and pure poetry. reverberations from this behemoth will be felt for years, but only the enlightened will know the source. keep cool but care.

The definitive work on deception is definitive 30-yrs later, 08 May 1999
Gaddis' masterpiece has been regarded as "impenetrable" since its late 50s publication. Time to revisit it nearly 40-years later. One of it's dozens of themes is a New York art forger who turns out perfect, bogus, "newly discovered" Van Eycks in his loft. The forgeries pass the most intense scrutiny by art- and Van Eyck scholars and are sold for vast sums. The forger and his dealer gradually realize the single flaw: No 20th century person can recreate a 17th century perception.

Similarly, no intelligent 1999 reader will recreate the wrong-headed obtuseness of 1950s reviewers. Beside being a masterpiece, Gawd, it's a hilarious skewering of pretentiousness.

The most important book of the 20th century, 31 Dec 1998
"The Recognitions" is the most important book of the past 100 years. William Gaddis was America's Joyce, America's Dickens. And too few people know who he is (or was, now). If you've never read him, do, and start here: "The Recognitions" is a big, beautiful, sprawling, hilarious, crazed trip through the world of counterfeiters (this word has myriad meanings in this novel) and groupies. Read it, if only to see how great America's literary tradition could have been if a few more writers had one-quarter Gaddis' courage.

wtf!, 06 Dec 2007
My order just arrived and I'm shocked! Instead of a proper book, I only received what looks like a laser-printed copy of a mediocre scan. Not even a single blank page at the end. And a flimsy cover printed on 120gr paper! Is this supposed to be the real "Atlantic books" edition? I feel so cheated...

It's good, 18 Aug 1999
This is an incredible novel for a thirty-year old; the problem is that Gaddis, as a first-timer, tries too hard in spots. The characters are too articulately inarticulate, the mythological references too ostentatiously used, and the mood is sometimes lost when the prose is piled on it. However, it has the subtlest humor and the harshest satire of any American book. Many passages are perfectly pitched, (the scene with Wyatt's breakdown is funny!), and the characters are a bunch of lost souls desperately seeking...something.

Modern American Literature Begins Here, 23 Jul 1999
absolutely the greatest book i have ever read (and probably the greatest mr. pynchon ever came across too) chock full of erudition, wit, arcane knowledge and pure poetry. reverberations from this behemoth will be felt for years, but only the enlightened will know the source. keep cool but care.

The definitive work on deception is definitive 30-yrs later, 08 May 1999
Gaddis' masterpiece has been regarded as "impenetrable" since its late 50s publication. Time to revisit it nearly 40-years later. One of it's dozens of themes is a New York art forger who turns out perfect, bogus, "newly discovered" Van Eycks in his loft. The forgeries pass the most intense scrutiny by art- and Van Eyck scholars and are sold for vast sums. The forger and his dealer gradually realize the single flaw: No 20th century person can recreate a 17th century perception.

Similarly, no intelligent 1999 reader will recreate the wrong-headed obtuseness of 1950s reviewers. Beside being a masterpiece, Gawd, it's a hilarious skewering of pretentiousness.

The most important book of the 20th century, 31 Dec 1998
"The Recognitions" is the most important book of the past 100 years. William Gaddis was America's Joyce, America's Dickens. And too few people know who he is (or was, now). If you've never read him, do, and start here: "The Recognitions" is a big, beautiful, sprawling, hilarious, crazed trip through the world of counterfeiters (this word has myriad meanings in this novel) and groupies. Read it, if only to see how great America's literary tradition could have been if a few more writers had one-quarter Gaddis' courage.

And what about Oscar's obsession with ART?, 15 Mar 1999
I read the other reviews and of course most give five crowns. Fair enough. I personally found the emphasis of the book to be as much on artists and their conceit(and obsessive personalities) as legal language. The dialogue is fantastic. Digressions in mid-sentence etc. for brains that are wrapped up in themselves. Intellectuals who just watch T.V. and never read any thing but the mail. The book is NOT difficult. Just get on that wavelength and there you go!

wtf!, 06 Dec 2007
My order just arrived and I'm shocked! Instead of a proper book, I only received what looks like a laser-printed copy of a mediocre scan. Not even a single blank page at the end. And a flimsy cover printed on 120gr paper! Is this supposed to be the real "Atlantic books" edition? I feel so cheated...

It's good, 18 Aug 1999
This is an incredible novel for a thirty-year old; the problem is that Gaddis, as a first-timer, tries too hard in spots. The characters are too articulately inarticulate, the mythological references too ostentatiously used, and the mood is sometimes lost when the prose is piled on it. However, it has the subtlest humor and the harshest satire of any American book. Many passages are perfectly pitched, (the scene with Wyatt's breakdown is funny!), and the characters are a bunch of lost souls desperately seeking...something.

Modern American Literature Begins Here, 23 Jul 1999
absolutely the greatest book i have ever read (and probably the greatest mr. pynchon ever came across too) chock full of erudition, wit, arcane knowledge and pure poetry. reverberations from this behemoth will be felt for years, but only the enlightened will know the source. keep cool but care.

The definitive work on deception is definitive 30-yrs later, 08 May 1999
Gaddis' masterpiece has been regarded as "impenetrable" since its late 50s publication. Time to revisit it nearly 40-years later. One of it's dozens of themes is a New York art forger who turns out perfect, bogus, "newly discovered" Van Eycks in his loft. The forgeries pass the most intense scrutiny by art- and Van Eyck scholars and are sold for vast sums. The forger and his dealer gradually realize the single flaw: No 20th century person can recreate a 17th century perception.

Similarly, no intelligent 1999 reader will recreate the wrong-headed obtuseness of 1950s reviewers. Beside being a masterpiece, Gawd, it's a hilarious skewering of pretentiousness.

The most important book of the 20th century, 31 Dec 1998
"The Recognitions" is the most important book of the past 100 years. William Gaddis was America's Joyce, America's Dickens. And too few people know who he is (or was, now). If you've never read him, do, and start here: "The Recognitions" is a big, beautiful, sprawling, hilarious, crazed trip through the world of counterfeiters (this word has myriad meanings in this novel) and groupies. Read it, if only to see how great America's literary tradition could have been if a few more writers had one-quarter Gaddis' courage.

And what about Oscar's obsession with ART?, 15 Mar 1999
I read the other reviews and of course most give five crowns. Fair enough. I personally found the emphasis of the book to be as much on artists and their conceit(and obsessive personalities) as legal language. The dialogue is fantastic. Digressions in mid-sentence etc. for brains that are wrapped up in themselves. Intellectuals who just watch T.V. and never read any thing but the mail. The book is NOT difficult. Just get on that wavelength and there you go!

A real find, 29 Aug 2008
I'd never heard of this book before, and picked it up in a second-had bookshop. It focuses on the life of a housewife, Liz, and her oppressive marriage to an army veteran; a pathological liar who is constantly pursuing complex and outlandish schemes for moneymaking. The story is rendered exclusively through the speech of its characters, which gives a heightened sense of their alienation and conceals their inner thoughts.

I found this to be a really original and well-worked novel, though it's tough going at times, and it's often very difficult to decipher what's happening. So it's probably not to everyone's tastes, but with a bit of perseverance you'll almost certainly find it very rewarding.