Three Days Before the Shooting ...: The Unfinished Second Novel by Ralph Ellison, John F. Callahan, Adam Bradley
2010; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 84; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/wlt.2010.0090
ISSN1945-8134
Autores Tópico(s)Musicology and Musical Analysis
Resumodeath,and that"thedevelopment ofthesevenvariations ofthis theme wascanonical, complete, intelligent, fullofideas,lyrically forceful, confident in themanner of thegreat masters, anditspoketothelistener ina pan-tonal language eighty years before Schönberg begantothink of suchthings/' WinterJourney is just such a "pan-tonal" tour-de-force, a contrapuntal canon whosemultiple motifs, including missing Rembrandts, unreadtexts, and unrequited love, coalescelikememory to evokethe fragility oflove and beautyin the shadowofmortality. Michele Levy North Carolina A&T University Ralph Ellison.Three Days Before the Shooting . . .: The Unfinished Second Novel. John F. Callahan & Adam Bradley,ed. New York.Random House / Modern Library.2010. xxix +1101 pages. $50. isbn 978-0-375-75953-6 Thesubtitle maybe a bitgenerous. Frankly, thisisa collection ofmaterials , arranged inthestructure ofa novel,butso variousas torequire divisionintothreeparts,each of whichhas variously finished sectionsofsomelengthor computer filesor notesand excerpts, with introductions and editorialnotes throughout. Theeditors don'tpretend ThreeDays Beforethe Shootingis or would have been a second Invisible Man, althoughthat achievement would be the main reasonanyreadermight beginthis hugevolume. Most of us, of a certain age, impressedwith the firstnovel, havereadone or moreoftheepisodes contained in thisnew offering .Indeed, part3 consists ofthese previously publishedsectionsand someofEllison's notes. Fortherest, itturns outthat Ellison didn't polish so muchas hemodified, expanded, andwrote alternate versions, differingfrom a fewwordsto a change inpointofview.Theadventofthe computer multiplied thenumber of filesofa givenepisode.Attheend of his life,Ellisonapparently had notchosenand polishedcertain of theepisodeswell enoughso they couldbejoined; eventheir order was somewhat indoubt. Books1 and 2 in part1 containan accountofan assassination attemptand its immediateaftermath , andpart2 contains an earlier section setinOklahoma andGeorgia in whicha certain Rev. Hickman learnsthata senator's unacknowledgedmixed -race sonistracing him, which leadstoHickman's attempt to warnthesenator before he is shot. Theseparts showthepotential unity ofthe novel, although there arepages of tedious and even undramatic 581WorldLiterature Today THREEDAY^^^^^^^^^H THE SHO^^^^^^^^H THE UNFINISHEDSECONDNOVEL RALPH ELLISON "pel Edited by John F.Callahan andAdam Bradley telling, duetoa tendency todeliver events through monologue anddialogue ,expandedby thenarrators' extemporizing. Nonetheless, there is somefine characterization, powerful speeches, andsomepowerful scenes ofDionysian excess, showing Ellison athiscomic best. Whatone narrator says about America mayfinger theproblem facingEllison : "Sometimes, asI say,this American scenetries tooutdoitself intheextremes whichitthrows up tous anditusually selects precisely thosemoments whenwe are least prepared toconfront orevenmake senseof them.[Butwe go on in thefaith that] these events might be farmorethansimpleoccurrences in themselves buttameforecasts of more tortuous puzzles, ofmore drasticrevelations ." The expansiveness ofEllison's narrators seemstooriginatein thisattempt to enlarge and make significant episodesthathe hadnotfully sifted inhisownmind. Of interest to scholars, teachers ,and writers aretheimpressive introductions tothebookas a whole andtoeachpart byJohn F.Callahan andAdamBradley. There ismuch to be learned (andwarned awayfrom) by the accountsof Ellison'sprocessofcomposition . Thesections on computer composition, inparticular, willstrike hometothose (ofus)who multiply versions ofa piece,editing ormodifying all ofthem, and then can'tfinally settle ona final version tosubmit. W.M. Hagen Oklahoma Baptist University Zdravka Evtimova. Pale and Other Postmodern Bulgarian Stories. Kfar Sava, Bulgaria /Toronto.Vox Humana. 2010. 159 pages. Can$ 16.99 / $14.99. ISBN 978-965-7504-01-7 Zdravka Evtimova wasbornin1959 in Pernik, Bulgaria.She has published fourshort-story collections and fournovels in Bulgaria.She writesin Bulgarian or directly in English.Manyof herworkshave beenpublished inEnglish-speaking countries. Evtimova has won literaryawardsforshortstories in the United States, France, andGermany, and two of herstorieshave been included inBBCliterary programs. Pale and OtherPostmodern Bulgarian Stories brings together twentythreeofherbest -known shortstories .Evtimova amplydisplaysthe drywit,sarcasm, and healthy dose ofskepticism typical ofthispartof Bulgaria, a beautiful but not rich mountainous region whoseinhabitantshave perfected a uniquemix ofhumor, song,and a no-nonsense attitudeover centuriesof struggle forsurvivaland humandignity . Someofthestories, like"The Twins,""Twigs,""Crocuses,"and "Beautiful," just to name a few, areclearly inspired bytheauthor's roots."Pale" (originally "Blood of H theROSEofTIME ^^^^^^^1§9 NEW& SUl.fcCTED POEMS ^IH^^^^^^^^^^^^^I B BeiDao ^^^^I^B KB EJmdhf ilici Welnbtrgtr ^l^^^^^^^^^^^l 1 ■ MARIOBENEDETTI ^^BBH ...
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