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Frederick (Earl) Exley |
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Frederick Exley's literary output over some twenty years amounts to only three novels: A Fan's Notes (1968), Pages from a Cold Island (1975), and Last Notes from Home (1988), plus enough magazine articles to fill a small volume. None of his novels has been a strong seller, and only A Fan's Notes was a critical success. This fine novel has attracted a devoted following, a readership of college students and hopeful writers, rather like that of J. D. Salinger in the 1950s. Perhaps his appeal, especially to younger readers, lies in his romantic rebellion against hypocrisy and repressiveness, what he calls the madness of America. Following in the literary tradition of mixing fiction and autobiography, Exley writes in a confessional mode, his persona on an edge, but facing an even madder American culture. As he remarks in Last Notes from Home, Exley is outraged at the "obscene spectacle America has become" but realizes that he must confront the truth of this America, whatever risks to him and his protagonists.
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