588
RONALD SUKE NI CK
at a ll. This qua lity, which is perhaps most brilliantly managed in Eugene
Wildman's work a nd some of Barthe lme's stories, is a good antidote for
that way we ha\·e of fend ing off ex perience by explaining it. Opacity
implies that we should direct our a ttent ion to the surface of a work , and
suc h techniques as graph ics a nd typograp hi cal variation, in oalling the
reader's a ttention to the technological rea lity of the book , a re useful
in keep ing his mind on that surface instead of und ermining it with
profundities. The truth of the page is on top of it, not underneath or
o\·er a t the li bra ry.
Admittedl y the Bossa No\·a is nothing but a hopeful fabri cation.
In fact the whole paradoxical idea of a "new tradition" for fi ction is
a mere product of the imagina tion . Still who knows but that one day
you may look up to find that a \\Ti ter as pecu lia r as J erzy K osinski
has won the ;'\ational Book A\\·a rd, or th a t Ri chard Brautigan' s far–
out fables ha\·e become best se ll ers, or even that such esote ric artists
as Bec kett and Agnon haye been a\\·arded the Nobel Prize, and you
may begin to wonder if something is happening i-1r. Jones.
THE
EXILE
OF
JAMES
JOYCE
Ronald Sukenick
By Helene Cixous.
Translated from the French
by Sally A.J. Purcell.
Index , Bibliography, Photographs.
765 pages. $ 15.00
Figaro Lilteraire:
" I Eeveryone nowadays taking an
interest in literature must read
Joyce, everyone taking an interest
in Joyce must henceforth read
He lene Cixous' book. "
L e Monde:
"One of the most bri ll iant victories
carried off by the spirit in quest of
th e Joycean Universe."
David Lewis, Inc.
216 West 89th Street,
New York City 10024.
