COMBINATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE [Paperback]

ALBERT GOLDBARTH (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Goldbarth is entranced by life. By the way every solid is a fizz of particles, our bodies galaxies of cells and molecules. By the fact that everything in the universe is alive and connected so that "there's not one / mineral in Stonehenge that our blood can't also raise." Passionate about the realm of the imagination, he draws startling comparisons among the visions of myth, art, and science. Exuberant and erudite, Goldbarth, a two-time winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, has two dozen books to his credit, and he only gets better. He plays the jokester as often as the philosopher, but here he allows himself to be gloriously poetic and metaphysical. In "Some Clothes," for instance, he sits with his dying aunt, watches a flock of pigeons lift off a roof in astonishing synchronicity, and thinks about how the Muslim call to prayer causes millions of people to face in the same direction just as leaves turn to the sun and a crowd will turn as one to gawk at a celebrity. Goldbarth is doing "what the brain has been evolved / to do: make wholeness," an act of succor and joy. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Ohio State University Press; 1 edition (January 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814251056
• ISBN-13: 978-0814251058
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.