The Man Who was There (Paperback)

My Uncle Dudley (Harcourt-1942) was fun reading, though at times it seemed somewhat Saroyan derivative with a touch of Steinbeck. The Man Who Was There is wholly original; Morris' only parallel - that occurred to me as I read - was Claude Houghton, author of I Was Jonathan Scrivener, whose work, dating some ten years back, left me with that some elusively tantalized feeling that I had as I read The Man Who Was There. ??Ages Ward dominates the book, and yet the reader never really sees him, oven in the thoroughly "American Gothic" chapters that tell of his visit to his old home, where the relatives and friends discuss him as though he were not there. For most of the book, he is encountered (a), as seen though the eyes of Grandmother Herkimer, whose memory is failing and who insists on called Private ??Reagan "Agee Ward"; (b) through a sporadic record left in the family album; (c) through the episodic memories of neighbors; (d) through his few friends, and those who knew him superficially and called themselves friends, driven by the urge of curiosity when he was reported "Missing" and his land-lady, Miss ??Newoomb, was named "next of kin". They were a queer bunch, close to the verge of madness, with Miss Newcomb maddest of the lot, and her admirer, Mr. Bloom, a close second. But they were mad in such a nice way, that you love the lot of them, even Peter Spavic. The final impression has somewhat the confusion of a dream, into which you want to get back so as to know the end. Odd blend of impressionistic treatment, and realism, down to a photographic accuracy of minuti??e - and phonographic record of sound. The man can write - and someday he may achieve some degree of order and balance that this lacks. I cannot see a large audience, but it will be an appreciative one. (Kirkus Reviews)

When it first appeared in 1945, this novel disconcerted a good many critics: Agee Ward, the man who was there of the title, ostensibly is the man who is not there--a member of the armed forces in World War II, he has been reported missing in action. Yet as we are shown various views of Agee and how he continues to affect the lives of others--among them Grandma Herkimer and Private Reagan, who knew him in boyhood; Peter Spavic and Mrs. Krickbaum, who refuse to believe that he is missing; Miss Gussie Newcomb, his landlady and (to her surprise) his heir--we come to perceive what Agee had in mind when he said that anything really alive just went on and on. An odd blend of impressionistic treatment, and realism, down to a photographic accuracy of minutiae--and phonographic record of sound. The man can write.--Kirkus Reviews. Reading this book gives one the same sort of pleasure and excitement and annoyance that leafing through an album of snapshots and sketches would provide if the album were a joint production of Daguerre, Braque, Grant Wood, Mathew Brady, and the Fresno News staff photographer.--Saturday Review of Literature.One of the most distinguished American authors, Wright Morris (1910-1988) wrote thirty-three books including The Field of Vision, which won the National Book Award.

General

Imprint:	University of Nebraska Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	1977
First published:	1977
Authors:	Wright Morris
Dimensions:	203 x 133 x 14mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	236
ISBN-13:	978-0-8032-5813-6
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	0-8032-5813-5
Barcode:	9780803258136

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