cbostrum (04/07/83)
I am looking for a certain type of novel, and have not been too successful. Basically, the idea is a first person account of a highly introspective narrator, who spends most time examining his own mind and thought processes, and articulating them in a fashion that we can get an inkling of whats going on. There should be a wealth of criticism on this sort of thing, but I have found none and also precious few novels of this form. The best examples I can think of amongst wellknown literature are Sartre's Nausea and Prousts A La Rechere Du Temps Perdu. Other "confessional" novels (eg Gides Immoralist) allmost fit too. (I hope it doesnt have anything to do with being French!) Can anyone help me by return mail? (Please dont suggest Joyce and other "stream of consciousness" types. Note line 4 above! Proust is really the best Ive seen so far in some spots, but most of it I cant deal with)
mclure (04/09/83)
#R:watmath:-486500:sri-unix:1300012:000:66 sri-unix!mclure Apr 8 11:22:00 1983 A contemporary novel like this is DYING INSIDE by Bob Silverberg.
mjl (04/13/83)
For introspective fiction, I too recommmend DYING INSIDE by Robert Silverberg. When I first read it, about two years ago, I though it was one of the best works I'd seen in a long time, and quite far removed from the speculative fiction for which Silverberg is (quite rightly) noted. After two years, I still think it's one of the most affecting things I've read -- the first-person story of a man born a telepath who is now losing his abilities. It's about a love-hate relationship with something that is at once part of and separate from the protagonist, yet something which in one sense defines his own idea of who, and what, he is. Not an easy thing to lose, and not an easy thing to write about losing, but Silverberg handles it masterfully. Matt Landau ...decvax!genrad!wjh12!mjl