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Wittgenstein's Mistress (Pbk)
Wittgenstein's Mistress (Pbk) | David Markson
10 posts | 13 read | 17 to read
Wittgenstein s Mistress is a novel unlike anything David Markson or anyone else has ever written before. It is the story of a woman who is convinced and, astonishingly, will ultimately convince the reader as well that she is the only person left on earth. Presumably she is mad. And yet so appealing is her character, and so witty and seductive her narrative voice, that we will follow her hypnotically as she unloads the intellectual baggage of a lifetime in a series of irreverent meditations on everything and everybody from Brahms to sex to Heidegger to Helen of Troy. And as she contemplates aspects of the troubled past which have brought her to her present state obviously a metaphor for ultimate loneliness so too will her drama become one of the few certifiably original fictions of our time. The novel I liked best this year, said the Washington Times upon the book s publication in 1988; one dizzying, delightful, funny passage after another . . . Wittgenstein s Mistress gives proof positive that the experimental novel can produce high, pure works of imagination. "
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review
BarbaraBB
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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Mehso-so

In this very experimental book Kate muses about life and art. She seems to have travelled the world, even lived in museums. But I can‘t be sure, her thoughts are so chaotic it was hard to follow. Some wonderful insights though, like this one: “One of the things people generally admired about Van Gogh, even though they were not always aware of it, was the way he could make even a chair seem to have anxiety in it. Or a pair of boots”. #1001books

Graywacke Sounds kind of fascinating 3y
BarbaraBB @Graywacke I think you‘d appreciate it more than I did! 3y
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BarbaraBB
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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#WeeklyForecast 46/21 (more of a #restoftheyearforecast actually!)

Okay, here‘s the plan. On the left are the books I need to read to finish #Booked2021, #ReadingAsia2021, #pop21, #52booksin21 and keep up with the #NYRBbookclub.
On the right are the books I want to read (longlist #ToB22), birthday presents etc.

It seems doable I think. Now I just have to start them. Oh and the tagged book is the one I am currently reading 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

KristiAhlers I just started Still Life. I‘ve read the Matrix. Happy reading! 3y
Cinfhen It‘s a solid plan 🥰you can do it 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Great you‘ve got it all planned. 👍💪 3y
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TrishB You‘ve got this 👍🏻❤️ 3y
squirrelbrain That‘s a big forecast, but you can do it! 3y
Suet624 Good Lord! That‘s some heavy lifting. Good luck! (edited) 3y
Megabooks Quite a few books, but I know you can do it!!! 💜👍🏻 3y
BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @TrishB @squirrelbrain @Suet624 @Megabooks It‘s two books a week, that is normally no problem for me. Times just aren‘t normal unfortunately 🤷🏻‍♀️. We‘ll see! 3y
Chelsea.Poole Looks like some good reading ahead of you!I‘m interested in Still Life…the cover is 😍 (edited) 3y
73 likes9 comments
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sarahbarnes
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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merelybookish I'm a sucker for an all text cover! 🖤 5y
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Billypar
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
This post contains spoilers
show me
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#lonelylonely #TimbitTunes @TheKidUpstairs @Cinfhen
Not actually a spoiler, but I feel like the final lines of any book are spoilerish. (It would also be literally impossible to spoil anything in this book since there is no plot).

Cinfhen Love the imagery and even the last line but I think this is a pass for me😉 6y
Billypar @Cinfhen I love it, but I think a stream of consciousness novel with a single character is a pass for most 😁 6y
Liz_M This is a book I wanted to like more than I did. I could recognize the wonderful writing, but want in the right place/time to enjoy it. 6y
Billypar @Liz_M I read it in college, and it's one that has stuck in my head ever since. I keep intending to reread it: I'm curious if it lives up to my memory. Such a bold concept: not sure if that's what makes it so memorable for me. 6y
11 likes4 comments
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WrittenCasey
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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Billypar
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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A woman believes she is the last person on Earth, and we follow her wandering thoughts as she reflects on her history, Greek mythology, art, and her isolated existence. Sounds fun, I know, but even though I read it over a decade ago, I still think about it a lot. The thoughts feel real- I've never felt so close to a character before. And it might have my favorite closing lines of any novel. #whereismymind #90sinjuly @Robothugs @Cinfhen

Robothugs Sounds very interesting! 7y
Cinfhen I really appreciate your posts! They are always so thought provoking ~ 7y
Billypar @Cinfhen Thanks! My two favorite things about Litsy are that I get to recommend books I love and that it cuts me off so I don't go on for pages and pages 😃 7y
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Cinfhen Haha 😂 7y
batsy "History, Greek mythology, art, her isolated existence" ... Yes please!! 7y
Leftcoastzen Always been interested in this title , thx for a reminder. 7y
Cathythoughts Stacked .... sounds brilliant to me ♥️👍🏻 6y
Cathythoughts I also see this post is from 2 years ago .... 😳👍🏻♥️ 6y
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GoneFishing

You will say that I am old and mad, was what Michaelangelo wrote, but I answer that there is no better way of being sane and free from anxiety than by being mad.

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katedensen
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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I chose this book as the headline of #day25 of the #augustphotochallenge, but it works well for today's theme of #underhyped books. I might be wrong about its hype (or lack thereof), but I hadn't heard of this book until a prof included it on a 20th & 21st century literature class. And I don't know a lot of people who've even heard of it. David Foster Wallace included it as 1 of 5 "direly underappreciated U.S. novels >1960." So, if DFW says so...

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katedensen
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson

I chose this book as the headline of #day25 of the #augustphotochallenge, but it works well for today's theme of #underhyped books. I might be wrong about its hype (or lack thereof), but I hadn't heard of this book until a prof included it on a 20th & 21st century literature class. And I don't know a lot of people who've even heard of it. David Foster Wallace included it as 1 of 5 "direly underappreciated U.S. novels >1960." So, if DFW says so...

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katedensen
Wittgenstein's Mistress | David Markson
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I was actually really surprised by the number of books with #whitespines I have in my collection. I couldn't even fit them all in the photo. I do realize some are more "off-white" or "cream," though. #augustphotochallenge #augustofpages

brooklynreads Man, I'm impressed! Nicely done. 8y
katedensen @brooklynreads Thanks! (I'll admit that I'm a little impressed with myself too!) 8y
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