"William Gaddis was born in New York City in 1922. His earlier and only other published work, The Recognitions, appeared in 1955." That is the complete biographical note on the jacket of Gaddis's seco...
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For William Gaddis, writing novels entailed a quasi-religious seriousness, akin, in spirit, to a ceremony of consolation. His novels may appear different from one another on the surfaces; yet, they ea...
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[In the mixed review below, Kakutani relates the plot, themes, and narrative structure of A Frolic of His Own, concluding that "Gaddis's provocative vision of modern society is purchased...
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[Towers is an American novelist and educator. In the following highly favorable review of A Frolic of His Own, he praises the novel's humor, satire, and focus on language and the law, suggestin...
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[In the following review, Jones offers a negative appraisal of A Frolic of His Own, arguing that in this book Gaddis "hasn't met his own high standards" established with The Recog...
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[Kamine is a short story writer and film consultant. In the review below, he offers praise for A Frolic of His Own.]
William Gaddis stands alone. No other American novelist takes on the modernist c...
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[In the following review, Dirda lauds the humorous aspects of A Frolic of His Own, calling the book "a superb comic novel."]
How is it that the greatest fiction of our century has bee...
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[Birkerts is an American critic and educator. In the following review, he discusses the plot and structure of A Frolic of His Own, noting the volume's relationship to Gaddis's previous w...
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[Raban is an English critic, educator, and editor. In the following review, he lauds Gaddis's characterizations, his focus on late twentieth-century life, and his use of dialogue, language, and...
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[In the excerpt below, Amdahl offers praise for A Frolic of His Own.]
Adventure! How may one avail oneself of it in a culture gone mad with comfort and dreams of safety? I think there are two broad...
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[An American critic and educator, Moore is author and editor of several works on Gaddis. In the following highly laudatory review, he discusses the experience of reading A Frolic of His Own and questi...
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[Wood is an English-born critic, screenwriter, and educator. In the following review, he examines Gaddis's use of dialogue, wordplay, and humor in A Frolic of His Own.]
It's hard to t...
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[In the following, Leader favorably reviews A Frolic of His Own.]
William Gaddis is now only obscure in one sense. At seventy-two, after long years of neglect, he has become a visible presence in A...
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Teaching A Frolic of His Own
All teaching products sold separately.
A Frolic of His Own Lesson Plans contain 152 pages of teaching material, including:
William Gaddis
A Frolic of His Own
