Posted by Steven on 28/11/2011, 15:47:52, in reply to "Re: Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass"
76.186.48.102
I'm pretty sure that Furber is a Methodist. I recall something said about its being considered unusual that he had not married. The Methodist church is predominant in that region and would have had a church in every town. Methodism was one of the earliest evangelical movements to break away from the Anglican church, and its services and use of imagery bear more resemblance to the Anglican and Catholic models than do those of other Protestant denominations.
--Previous Message--
: I have read some very long and difficult novels, and I
: have immensely enjoyed some of them (Joyce's
: "Ulysses" or Broch's "The Death of
: Virgil" come to my mind). With this book, I
: traversed a deep valley: I started enthusiastical
: about the structure and narrative point of view
: (Isrobestis Tott), remained interested in the
: "story" (Henry Pimber), and then struggled
: through the excruciating 80+ pages of Jethro Furber's
: first chapter. I confess I was close to giving up, but
: fortunately a long experience as a reader has taught
: me that, with works of literature well established in
: reputation after some time, it is usually worth it to
: persevere (not always, of course). So I did, and I am
: glad about it.
:
: I hadn't, of course, thought about
: "Amadeus", but the comparison is
: illuminating. Throughout the book, I was constantly
: reminded of Faulkner, especially the latest book I
: have read by him, "The Hamlet" first
: published in 1940. I am also convinced that Henry
: committed suicide; I see no reason for Omensetter to
: having killed him, but I'm not sure there was an
: affair between Pimber's wife and him. By the way, am I
: right to think that both wives (Pimber's and
: Omensetter's) are called Lucy?
:
: Now, of course the central character is Furber, and I
: don't think anyone could call him a likable character.
: Obviously the man has serious sexual frustrations and
: fixations. Is he a Catholic priest or a Protestant
: minister? All the imagery (and celibacy, of course)
: indicates to me that he's Catholic, although I've
: never thought of Ohio as a very Catholic place, except
: for Italian or Polish immigrants. And obviously, he's
: a bad man that has a "change of heart" at
: the end of the book, accompanied by a severe nervous
: collapse.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I think this book--it's hard to call it a novel--would
: appeal to those who like David Markson, John Barth,
: Harry Mathews, or Robert Coover. It's quite different
: from, but in a way supportive of, Omensetter's Luck
: It was first published in 1968.
:
:
: It sounds very interesting. I don't know who Harry
: Mathews is, but I used to love John Barth. I haven't
: read any of his work written since the 1980s. I have
: read only one work each by Coover ( The Public Burning
: ) and Markson ( WM ) but both were terrific. I
: definitely plan to read more Gass.
:
: I hope others will be joining the two of us in this
: discussion.
:
:
: Yes, I wish that we had a broader discussion of
: Omensetter's Luck , too. Guillermo said that he
: planned to read it, and I seem to recall that Lale
: might join you in reading The Tunnel . I hope they
: and some of the other less active members (joffre, for
: instance?) will read this difficult but glorious
: novel.
:
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: --Previous Message--
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