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Chimera

By John Barth
Series: Dalkey Essentials Series
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3.71 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 2,265 ratings, 173 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Chimera by John Barth is a captivating novel that intertwines three novellas, blending myth and modernity through a postmodern lens. It cleverly reimagines ancient Greek myths, focusing on characters such as Scheherazade, Perseus, and Bellerophon. The book explores themes of storytelling, identity, and the power of narrative, offering a rich tapestry of comedy and philosophical insight.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$4700

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate cleverly interwoven tales blending mythology and metafiction. The author playfully explores the nature of storytelling, offering a rich tapestry of wit, philosophy, and fantastical adventure. If you fancy intricate narratives that challenge traditional storytelling conventions, this read may appeal to you.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A National Book Award winner, this bawdy, comic trio of novellas finds John Barth injecting his signature wit into three tales many times told: that of Scheherazade, storyteller of the Thousand and One Nights; of Perseus, slayer of Medusa; and of Bellerophon, rider of Pegasus and slayer of the Chimera.

Chimera presents these ancient stories with a contemporary twist, blending Barth's innovative storytelling with the timeless allure of mythology. Experience the adventures anew through the lens of Barth's ingenuity and comic flair.

Series: Dalkey Essentials Series

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  • Chimera
    A National Book Award winner, this bawdy, comic trio of novellas finds John Barth injecting his signature wit into three tales many times told: that of Scheherazade, storyteller of the Thousand and One Nights; of Perseus, slayer of Medusa; and of Bellerophon, rider of Pegasus and slayer of the Chimera. Chimera presents these ancient stories with a contemporary twist, blending...
    By John Barth
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    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
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    An obsessive and revealing self-portrait of a remarkable woman humiliated by the circumstances of her birth and by her physical appearance, La Bâtarde relates Violette Leduc's long search for her own identity through a series of agonising and passionate love affairs with both men and women. When first published, La Bâtarde earned Violette Leduc comparisons to Jean Genet for the...
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  • The Making of Americans
    In The Making of Americans, Gertrude Stein sets out to tell a history of a family's progress, radically reworking the traditional family saga novel to encompass her vision of personality and psychological relationships. As the history progresses over three generations, Stein also meditates on her own writing, on the making of The Making of Americans, and on America.
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    Nobodaddy's Children is a trilogy of novels that traces life in Germany from the Nazi era through the postwar years and into an apocalyptic future. Scenes from the Life of a Faun recounts the dreary life of a government worker who escapes the banality of war by researching the exploits of a deserter from the Napoleonic Wars nicknamed The Faun....
    By Arno Schmidt
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Chimera by John Barth is lauded as a rich and hilarious work, showcasing Barth's potential genius. Readers appreciate its inventive storytelling and clever narrative style, which blends mythology with a modern twist.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781628974454

Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 November 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Dalkey Archive Press

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 139.0mm

Height: 215.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 302

Collections

Fiction General Fiction John Barth Literary Fiction Series: Dalkey Essentials Series

About the Author

John Barth is our most celebrated postmodernist. From the appearance in 1956 of The Floating Opera, his first published book, through the essay collection Final Fridays, released in 2012, he has published at least two books in each of the seven decades spanning his writerly life thus far. Thrice nominated for the National Book Award-The Floating Opera, Lost in the Funhouse, and Chimera, which won in 1973-Barth has received the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and the Lannan Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. A native of Maryland's Eastern Shore, he taught for twenty-two years in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. He now lives in Florida with his wife Shelly.

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