I'm reading Carpenter's Gothic.
What's that some ellroy or that guy who did the road?
I'm reading Carpenter's Gothic.
This story of raging comedy and despair centers on the tempestuous marriage of an heiress and a Vietnam veteran. From their "carpenter gothic" rented house, Paul sets himself up as a media consultant for Reverend Ude, an evangelist mounting a grand crusade that conveniently suits a mining combine bidding to take over an ore strike on the site of Ude's African mission. At the still center of the breakneck action--revealed in Gaddis's inimitable virtuoso dialoge--is Paul's wife, Liz, and over it all looms the shadowy figure of McCandless, a geologist from whom Paul and Liz rent their house. As Paul mishandles the situation, his wife takes the geologist to her bed and a fire and aborted assassination occur; Ude issues a call to arms as harrowing as any Jeremiad--and Armageddon comes rapidly closer.
I read Carpenter's Gothic around the early 90s and thought it was a load of rubbish, frankly. But I trust your judgement, and I'll make a point of revisiting Gaddis soon.
Yeah agreed about the conversations Version - in The Recognitions it's quite common for there to be pages and pages of that without the usual speech marks or attribution and it makes it very hard at times to tell who is saying what and which line they are replying to and so on... which I have to admit is a very good way to reproduce the effect of a busy and chaotic party. Arguably it doesn't matter who is saying what to whom a lot of time cos it's mainly bollocks... but of course that's the point.