''The Runaway Soul'', published by

Farrar, Straus & Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

in 1991, first edition ,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

catalog card number 91-75885, is the long-awaited first novel by

Harold Brodkey Harold Brodkey (October 25, 1930 – January 26, 1996), born Aaron Roy Weintraub, was an American short-story writer and novelist. Life Brodkey was the second child born in Staunton, Illinois, to Max Weintraub and Celia Glazer Weintraub (1899 ...

. It represents either part or all of the work that Brodkey labored over for more than a quarter century, and which had originally been announced as ''A Party of Animals''. The plot of the novel concerns Brodkey's autobiographical character, Wiley Silenowicz, whose fate closely parallels the author's own childhood in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in the 1930s. Stylistically, the novel attempts to render sensation into language, following the style of Brodkey's celebrated ''

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * '' The ...

'' stories. In terms of material, much of ''The Runaway Soul'' was drawn from Brodkey's second collection of short stories, '' Stories in an Almost Classical Mode'', which in turn was made of Brodkey's entire story output during the period 1963 to 1988. The reviews of ''The Runaway Soul'' were mixed, and some quite negative. '' Time's'' review on publication was lukewarm at best, ending with the observation, " e of the earliest hapter headingssays volumes about the volume to follow. It is titled 'The Masturbation'." '' Newsweek's'' reviewer, while also damning it with faint praise, ended the review by stating, "''The Runaway Soul'' is absolutely the last book you want to say this about, but it could have used a rewrite." In ''

The New Criterion ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'',

Bruce Bawer Theodore Bruce Bawer (born October 31, 1956) is an American writer who has been a resident of Norway since 1999. He is a literary, film, and cultural critic and a novelist and poet, who has also written about gay rights, Christianity, and Islam. ...

called the book "one of the literary fiascos of all time." It did, however, receive a long, favorable review by D.M. Thomas.New York Times, November 10, 1991

References in popular culture

* In

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's ''

Husbands and Wives ''Husbands and Wives'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. The film debute ...

'', a copy of the book can be seen on Gabe (Allen) and Judy's (Farrow) coffee table. * On several episodes of Season 3 of ''

Californication Californication may refer to: *Californication (word) ''Californication'' is a portmanteau of California and fornication, appearing in ''Time'' on May 6, 1966 and written about on August 21, 1972, additionally seen on bumper stickers in the U.S. ...

'', the jacketless spine of the novel can be spotted on a book-cart in the university office of the show's Hank Moody.

References in popular culture

References

See also