An elderly writer (identified only as "Author") sets out to transform shoe boxes crammed with notecards into a novel, and in so doing will dazzle readers with an astonishing parade of revelations about the trials and calamities and absurdities and often even tragedies of the creative life--all the while trying his best (he says) to keep himself out of the tale.
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An elderly writer (identified only as "Author") sets out to transform shoe boxes crammed with notecards into a novel, and in so doing will dazzle readers with an astonishing parade of revelations about the trials and calamities and absurdities and often even tragedies of the creative life--all the while trying his best (he says) to keep himself out of the tale.
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Add this copy of Vanishing Point: a Novel to cart. $9.81, good condition, Sold by Vive Liber Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Somers, CT, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Shoemaker & Hoard.
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Good. Pages are clean with normal wear. May have limited markings & or highlighting within pages & or cover. May have some wear & creases on the cover. The spine may also have minor wear. May not include CD DVD access code or any other supplemental materials.
Add this copy of Vanishing Point to cart. $10.68, good condition, Sold by GreatBookPricesUK5 rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Castle Donington, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Counterpoint LLC.
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Add this copy of Vanishing Point: a Novel to cart. $10.75, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Shoemaker & Hoard.
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Fine. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 191 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 191 p. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Add this copy of Vanishing Point: a Novel to cart. $14.74, good condition, Sold by Big River Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Powder Springs, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Shoemaker & Hoard.
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This book is in good condition. The cover has minor creases or bends. The binding is tight and pages are intact. Some pages may have writing or highlighting.
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David Markson's book, Vanishing Point, is the third book in a tetralogy of experimental novels concerning an aging author. The other works in the tetralogy are: Reader's Block, the ironically titled This Is Not a Novel, and The Last Novel. Like Markson's other works, Vanishing Point is avante-garde and highly original. It has no narrative or plot to speak of, yet conveys its theme in a remarkably engaging fashion.
The novel begins by telling us that "Author has finally started to put his notes into manuscript form," that he has been scribbling notes onto 3x5 index cards and that the cards now fill two shoeboxes. With that, the novel launches into nearly 200 pages of the scribblings and notes themselves. The notes are a seemingly random reiteration of trivia and musings concerning art, literature, history, science and civilization. Sometimes the notes contain anecdotes or facts; at other times the notes consist of little more than a name or phrase. Gradually, we learn that Author is elderly, enervated and without motivation to do much more than rearrange the order of the cards. Here and there, we learn what Author has in mind --"a novel of intellectual reference and allusion...minus much of the novel." A sense of order begins to appear and the theme of approching death emerges.
This novel is never boring and, despite its formlessness, is actually quite difficult to put down. There is an almost addictive quality to the notes. Markson's protagonists are often isolated and almost hermetically sealed off from social contact and relationships. Yet these characters have genuine insight into the human condition and express humanist feelings. The protagonist in this novel is no exception. By the book's end, I found myself laughing with and shedding a tear over a sparsely-developed, unnamed character whose inner life I was only allowed to glimpse through a collection of jotted notes. In that sense, Vanishing Point is an amazing work.
