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On 12/17/2012 12:04 PM, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAJ8=rtiEh+hUgwwtOUP0bS48Y7C42RJH0a=Suqb7bTW-HNh=4A@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">Fernando Gouvea wrote:<br>
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<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> I would definitely
start with <i>War in Heaven</i>, </div>
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<div>Several good reasons to start here, including it's
Williams's first novel. There is a definite development of
the density of his novels as they go along.</div>
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I think the first is actually <i>Shadows of Ecstasy</i>, though it
was published only later. And probably should have remained in the
drawer.<br>
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cite="mid:CAJ8=rtiEh+hUgwwtOUP0bS48Y7C42RJH0a=Suqb7bTW-HNh=4A@mail.gmail.com"
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<div> </div>
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<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">The two best of his
novels are, in my opinion, <i>Descent into Hell</i> and <i>All
Hallows Eve</i>, <br>
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<div>Not surprisingly, these are his last novels and quite
dense.</div>
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<br>
And also the ones that read better if the reader understands
Williams's rather strange theological ideas. That said, <i>Descent</i>
is a wonderful study of the notion of damnation.<br>
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cite="mid:CAJ8=rtiEh+hUgwwtOUP0bS48Y7C42RJH0a=Suqb7bTW-HNh=4A@mail.gmail.com"
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<div> </div>
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<div text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">Williams' poetry is
worth a look, but many people find it impenetrable. It's
certainly old-fashioned.</div>
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<div>If by "old-fashioned" you mean "early 20th-century
modernist," I must agree. There is a strong kinship between
Williams' poetry (I refer to the Arthurian poetry, which is
all I have read) and Eliot's work. (Eliot, by the way,
praised Williams's novels and wrote an introduction to at
least one of them.)</div>
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<br>
I think that's a good description, though there are some
late-Romantic things there as well. What's most old-fashioned about
it is that it is intended as narrative, rather than as an
exploration of the personal, which is where most poetry seems to be
these days. <br>
<br>
Fernando<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
=============================================================
Fernando Q. Gouvea <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.colby.edu/~fqgouvea">http://www.colby.edu/~fqgouvea</a>
Carter Professor and Chair
Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics
Colby College Editor, Carus Mathematical Monographs
5836 Mayflower Hill Editor, MAA Reviews
Waterville, ME 04901 <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.maa.org/maareviews">http://www.maa.org/maareviews</a>
Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.
-- Walt Kelly, "Potluck Pogo"
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