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LETTERSAuthor: John Barth American Literature Series October 1994 772 pages, 6 x 9 Dimensions: Paperback, 1-56478-061-9 Retail Paperback Price: Our Paperback Price: $11.96—20% OFF! 
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Book Description
A landmark of postmodern American fiction, LETTERS is (as the subtitle genially informs us) "an old time epistolary novel by seven fictitious drolls & dreamers each of which imagines himself factual." Seven characters (including the Author himself) exchange a novel's worth of letters during a seven-month period in 1969, a time of revolution that recalls the U.S.'s first revolution in the 18th century—the heyday of the epistolary novel.
Recapitulating American history as well as the plots of his first six novels, Barth's seventh novel is a witty and profound exploration of the nature of revolution and renewal, rebellion and reenactment, at both the private and public levels. It is also an ingenious meditation on the genre of the novel itself, recycling an older form to explore new directions, new possibilities for the novel.
About the Author
| John Barth is the author of numerous works of fiction, including The Sot-Weed Factor, Lost in the Funhouse, and the National Book Award winner Chimera. He taught for many years in the writing program at Johns Hopkins University and lives in Chestertown, Maryland. |  |
Praise
"A work of genius."—New York Times Book Review"An awesome performance. Like Nabokov's Ada, Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow . . . LETTERS is brilliant."—Newsweek
"A landmark! . . . A prodigious and quite remarkable achievement."—Washington Post Book World
"A testament to Barth's tremendous talent and wit . . . A treasure for those who delight in Barth's dazzling and unparalleled ingenuity."—Publishers Weekly
"Formidable fun . . . an epic of games and 'contretemps.'"—Village Voice
"Barth's best novel."—Washington Star
"By turns, enormous and exhilarating, subtle and silly, brilliant and boisterous."—Baltimore Sun
"The most ambitious work yet from this immensely talented creative artist who is in our opinion the most imaginative maker of fiction in America today . . . A major work of art and a modern masterpiece."—Dallas Morning News
"Don't deprive yourself of this succulent feast."—Cleveland Plain Dealer