A Frolic of His Own (Paperback)

by William Gaddis (Author) "Justice?..." (more)
Key Phrases: Mister Crease, Mister Basie, Bill Peyton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Perhaps William Gaddis' most accessible novel--though a dense and imposing book--A Frolic of His Own is a masterful work that mocks the folly of a litigious society. The story centers around Oscar Crease, the grandson of a Confederate soldier who avoided a deadly battle by invoking a legal clause that allowed him to hire a substitute and who later became a Supreme Court judge. Oscar writes a play about his grandfather that goes unproduced yet appears as the story behind a big-budget Hollywood film. Oscar sues and is tossed into the vortex of litigation. Meanwhile, almost 20 other lawsuits of varying frivolity swirl about, adding to this satirical and philosophical treat, which won the National Book Award for 1994.

From Publishers Weekly
The author of Carpenter's Gothic (and winner of a 1993 Lannan Award) takes a brash, entertaining swipe at the legal profession in his fourth novel. Oscar Crease is a quiet, middle-aged history professor whose father and grandfather were both high-ranking judges. The story begins as Oscar contemplates two lawsuits: one against the Japanese manufacturer of the car that ran over him; the other against a filmmaker Oscar claims stole his play, Once at Antietam , and turned it into a gory, lavish movie. Before long, the legal wranglings, strategic maneuvering and--of course--the whopping bills dominate Oscar's life and wreak havoc on his relationships. There is no description or third-person narrative. Like Carpenter's Gothic , which is rendered wholly in dialogue, this narrative is a cacophony of heard and found voices: Oscar's conversations with his myriad lawyers, his flighty girlfriend, his patient sister and her lawyer husband are all spliced with phone calls, readings from Oscar's play and various legal documents. Rather than slow the action down, these documents add to the grim melee. This is a wonderful novel, aswirl with the everyday inanity of life; it may also be the most scathing attack ever published on our society's litigious ways.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1st Scribner edition (February 10, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684800527
• ISBN-13: 978-0684800523
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #360,970 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought it was great, and I'm a lawyer!, July 26, 1999

By A Customer

I am always amused when someone posts a review implying that lawyers should not read a book because it's critical of them and they presumably wouldn't like it (see below). To the contrary, we're not all vain, ignorant barbarians. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and particularly the scathing satire directed at certain members of my chosen profession. I can assure you based upon my several years of private practice that, technical quibbles aside (who honestly cares if Gaddis didn't understand preemption?), this book is 100% dead on accurate, down to the very smallest detail, such as the covertly conniving lawyer sending the "hideous" but "expensive" potted amarylis to Christina. It is pleasurable to see my compatriots (and to a certain extent, myself) stripped of their pompous finery in such a masterful manner. It is certainly at times sobering, but meaningfully and necessarily so. And the entire book was far from a chore to read, but one of the most original, brilliantly designed novels I have ever read. It is told in a stream of consciousness style that takes some getting used to, perhaps, but is positively addictive once you get the hang of it. And the interpolation of satirical legal opinions and a deposition transcript into the novel is an original touch. Judge Crease's first "Spot" opinion is an absolute howl (no pun intended). All in all, a complex, engrossing, enriching experience.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Style is The Substance, February 9, 2001

By	Justin Bernbach (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

Some of the previous reviews have defended the substance of 'Frolic' but bemoaned the unique and initially difficult style of the book. I actually think that Gaddis' style in general is not a postmodernist trick but a sincere effort to achieve his goal, which is to understand how people really speak and what it's like to try to communicate with people whose thoughts and words dart off into tangents and who constantly try to steer dialogue back to their own chosen subjects.

In this case the anarchic style works even better because not only does Oscar live in a world of random, abmbient noise from other people's mouths, he is also immersed in a world of litigation and the constant confusion about which lawsuit is being addressed from one moment to the next is a key element in Gaddis' satire of a litigious society out of control.

I do agree that the novel is probably a better read for attorneys. I am not an attorney but many members of my family are and I have enough experience reading legal briefs and deposition transcripts to get a lot out of the legal in-jokes. Because ultimately one of the triumphs of the book is to skewer the legal profession in its own language. And that language is hilarious whether it is in the hands of skilled lawyers using it to manipulate a situation or the book's other characters, who are forced to come to grips with a language they find so inaccessible.

As for the style, I can only urge first-time Gaddis readers to stick with it. It shouldn't take more than 30 or 40 pages to master his unique style and then you are on your way.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of His Own, October 9, 2002

By	"royhaygood" (Monterrey, Mexico) - See all my reviews

I made the "mistake" of familiarizing myself with Gaddis' work by first reading The Recognitions about six months ago. Make no mistake - The Recognitions is well worth the effort, once you understand how to read it (i.e. the dialogue and conversational effect and how to interpret who is talking and when, and what is narrative as opposed to dialogue), although toward the end, when Wyatt loses his mind in the monastery, the imagery gets a bit muddled. In any event, as I began reading A Frolic of His Own, I found myself thinking, wow, I should have started with this one, because this is much more accessible than The Recognitions. Of course, I now realize that it is more accessible simply because I had been through the wringer with The Recognitions and not because the style is so much different. Indeed, it is more structured and more coherent, but the same Gaddis black, stinging satire is there in its glory.

An amazing book. Gaddis truly listened to how we speak and interact with each other, because his dialogue is absolutely spot on with how we humans/Americans speak to each other in a familiar manner. While there are no truly sympathetic characters (all are pretentious and selfish in a way we all know far too well), one can't help but feel empathy towards each of them in some sordid way. The plot has been outlined in other reviews, so I won't go there, other than to say that just when you think Gaddis is off on some tangent and you feel a lack of cleverness in having not "got it", he brings it right back around, front and center, although it may not be where you thought it was going to be.

Unlike criticisms of The Recognitions, and even JR, which suggest too much plot, too many charachters, and many loose ends (not necessarily true), this is a tightly, albeit densely, plotted book that is at times laugh out loud funny and other times head in the oven sad. But at all times it challenges and is truly entertaining and wonderful. Maybe the best book I've ever read.