The Codex (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Oliver Broudy (Author)

Book Description

Call it The Flattening Effect. The process by which mystery is leached from life, and replaced by weary literalism. Age is the primary culprit, abetted by desensitizing technology, and the reductive shove of science. At a certain point, thought becomes synapse, talk becomes tweet, and all Netflix movies seem to merit three stars. Gradually the world recedes from your touch, until the only things that still feel real are sex and video games.

Such, at any rate, is the case for Oliver Broudy, when he stumbles upon the most grotesque instance of flattening imaginable. An object so dense, and so uniquely revealing of our times, that it is itself a kind of mystery. Forthwith, Broudy sets out for the Czech Republic to confront the object—along with its aging creator. To him is put the final question: Once life’s mystery has faded, can you ever get it back again?

"Lyrical, provocative, the mysterious Codex stays with you long after you've turned the last page." —Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On its surface, The Codex is a coyly unfolding narrative of Oliver Broudy's trip to Prague in pursuit of the meaning of a strange book: "a book of profound moral ambiguity, both beautiful and bizarre, alluring and repellent. A book so explicit that it would be banned by any public library, a book whose pages chronicled the extinction of mystery, and at the same time spawned new mysteries just by existing." Along the way, he meets an outspoken cosmetic surgeon, a mysterious artist of the female form, and--perhaps--the key to his own ambivalence about adulthood. As with his first Kindle Single, The Saint, Broudy's multi-dimensional narrative rests on a keen succession of nested structures, in this case a profile wrapped in another profile couched in a memoir, of sorts. At the level of craft, this alone identifies Broudy as a rising talent. Add the lushness of his language and a succession of scalping insights into modern life, and The Codex makes a compelling case for Oliver Broudy's emergence among the master essayists at work today. --Jason Kirk

Product Details

• File Size: 91 KB
• Print Length: 42 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005T4PSJ0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,700 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #37 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Page-turning Narratives

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual and compelling October 13, 2011

By Wes Turmais

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

With Broudy's writings, you never quite know where the journey is leading, only that the journey itself is compelling and it's well worth the travel. Here, his discovery of a most unusual book of images inspires a journey to Prague in his continual quest for understanding his own life and its relationship to the world around him. The writing is rich, evocative and (I almost hate to use this much overused word) luminous. The startling content of the book itself, handled I have to say with extraordinary sensitivity, takes a back seat to his appreciation and understanding of the artist's utter commitment to and immersion in his craft. Broudy is a keen observer and has a fine eye for the telling detail. But the real pleasure here is accompanying Broudy on his personal hegira and seeing what might have formerly been simply a blur come into penetrating focus. It's a great read, the second time even more rewarding than the first.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars True Happiness October 14, 2011

By Idaho Granny

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're looking for a story with a plot this book is not for you. Broudy takes a philosophic look at the dissolution of true happiness as we age. Sexuality and its transformation from innocence and beauty to hard cold commercialization is used as a metaphor. Broudy shows how people lose sight of the beauty that surrounds them and in search for beauty and happiness become self obsessed. "The veneer of beauty vanishes, and we become alien to each other, and to ourselves." To regain true happiness and our childlike optimism we need to go beyond seeing with our eyes and learn to feel what we see, not unlike an artist.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read October 11, 2011

By Iva S

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read Broudy's last book, The Saint, and loved it. The Codex is just as introspective, inisghtful and beautifully written. Part memoir, part profile, part travel piece...it's a piece you'll be thinking about long after you finish reading it.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange. Me Like. October 7, 2011

By Reuben J. Strayer

Format:Kindle Edition

I'm still trying to figure out how to make sense of this strange piece of excellent writing. It comes at you from about 12 different directions, makes almost no sense, and yet makes all the sense in the world. I think Broudy may be in the process of discovering a new mode of literature. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An unconventional journey October 10, 2011

By B. Gray

Format:Kindle Edition

This piece, in the most unusual way, serves as a reminder to stay present in the moment and truly see and appreciate what is unfolding around you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful long introduction leads into ... huh?... for me November 7, 2011

By M. Sweeney

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this Single because I really enjoyed "The Saint", another Single that the author wrote. And the cover art was striking also.

The long introduction I just found wonderful. I would read a paragraph and put my Kindle down and drift off on the evocative prose and imagery. I did not want it to end. (One of the problems with the Single format is when you find a great read, it ends all too soon.)
And then he gets off the plane and it turned into an ordinary story for me. Yes, it was interesting, still pulled me along, but I felt abruptly disengaged from the sense of mystery and depth he had created. Maybe if I were a guy, it would have been less of a disconnect.

Still worthwhile, but more like two articles than one: a poetic essay followed by a more mundane story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a bad emo blog November 3, 2011

By Donna

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm not seeing what everyone else is seeing in this book. Far from "coy" and "lyrical," I found it overstyled and self-indulgent. It reads like a sample from community college creative writing class. I wish I had read the sample excerpt before buying; the money I had spent is the only reason I forced myself to read even halfway.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, droll, and thoroughly engaging December 28, 2011

By Fiona Maazel

Format:Kindle Edition

If you've got an hour or so to spend on something pleasurable, I suggest you spend it on this. Broudy's observations are always shrewd and often unexpected, which means you pretty much want to go wherever he takes you.

More About the Author

Oliver Broudy is a National Magazine Award finalist, a contributing writer with Men's Health magazine, and the ex-managing editor of The Paris Review. He has written on bodybuilding in Afghanistan, traditional cooking in rural China, and anarchism in Missouri. His work has appeared in a variety of online and print publications.