[The Resurrection and Nickel Mountain, two novels from the "very early" phase of Gardner's career,] resemble each other in several ways. They share an upstate New York setting, which Gardner will replace with more fabulous realms in the later novels. They share an omniscient narrator, presenting plausible characters who speak convincing dialogue; Gardner will use self-conscious and unreliable first-person narrators in the later novels. They share a conventional chronological structure, which will be modified to more experimental forms in the last three novels. The Resurrection and Nickel Mountain share a large, philosophical focus on the question, posed bluntly and emphatically to James Chandler, "What is the meaning of life?"… Gardner will rephrase the question and alter the simplicity with which the answer is achieved, but he will not change the affirmative tone of his answer.
Just as the first two novels share similar themes and techniques, they also share a similar flaw. At their worst, they are sentimental; the affirmations made by the protagonists are not earned nor are they fully credible…. If sentimentality forms the implicit trap for the affirmative vision, Gardner will avoid it in his last three novels through the use of self-consciousness and humor.
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