I paid a dollar for this book. God Bless used bookstores who carry out-of-print titles on clearance. The King is probably flawless - I've read it 10 or 11 times now, and each time the language is always as fresh as the previous reading. Donald Barthelme is indisputably the Alpha and Omega of contemporary American short fiction, and this is his very best. If you're not familiar with his stuff, go grab one of the anthologies (60 or 40 Stories), find a good place to read, and become quietly enthralled. The fact that this book is out-of-print either testifies to the current lifeless state of the publishing industry, or the existence of a cold, malevolent trickster-god. If you have personal contact with ANYONE involved in the publishing industry, PLEASE encourage them to read The King, to reproduce it, to lavish it with praise and vigorous marketing, etc. D.B. has slipped out of the American literary consciousness - if that isn't an oxymoron - these last ten years, being instead cruelly relegated to the pomp and ineffectual circumstance of that icy ninth ring of hell, THE LAND OF GRADUATE STUDIES. Unacceptable. Find this book, pay the search fee, abuse the mass-quantity machines at Kinko's, and leave copies on the street corners. Brighten a stranger's day.

Donald Barthelme's "The King" is the loudest laugh I've ever had from a book! It is the tale of Arthur and his knights fighting World War II, though the tale is told primarily through these characters' sad and outdated dialogue. I read this book almost non-stop through breakfast at a coffee shop, a trounce through my favorite bookstore and then dinner, all the while grabbing anyone close at hand to read passages to. Nasty looks and possibly even violent reactions would not assuage me, for the humor, joy and pure inventiveness of Barthelme's writing kept me as humble and courteous as a chivalrous knight

Hitler and King Arthur come to blows in this, a virtually dialogue-only novel. Absolutely incredible. Will be one of the top five novels you've ever read

Review of Michael Hudgens' Donald Barthleme: Postmodernist American Writer
By Roger E. Dendinger, Ph.D.
Comparing writers to visual artists, William S. Burroughs once said that writing is fifty years behind painting. From a Burroughsian perspective, painters successfully deal with technological change and resulting cultural stresses because they work outside the straightjacket of language. With mere words as the base material of their art, writers face constraints of linear narrative and logical representation unknown to painters. (Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word describes the dilemma of abstract and conceptual artists who rely on textual explanation and commentary.) As Michael Hudgens makes clear in Donald Barthleme: Postmodernist American Writer, Barthelme's achievement in overcoming the "backwardness" of writing was won in the aesthetic battleground over the nature of narrative and representation. Hudgens explicates two of Barthelme's best known novels, The Dead Father and Snow White, and the short story, "Paraguay," a work considered emblematic of literary postmodernism by both sides in this debate - by critics who scorn postmodernism as chaotic or willfully difficult and by those sympathetic to the need for exploring heterogeneous forms of expression. The nature of cultural postmodernism is a significant sub-theme of the study, and here Hudgens makes a valuable contribution to the theoretical standoff between postmodernism and its critics. He identifies elements of Barthelme's work that contrast starkly with tenets of high modernist criticism, explicating them in the context of Barthelme's stated goals as a writer. In a key chapter, he traces Barthelme's development of the technical innovations of Joyce and makes a convincing case for viewing Joyce's experimental works as a Rosetta stone for deciphering Barthelme and, by extension, other postmodernists.
Rather than diving into the theoretical debate over postmodernism (a profitless undertaking at best), Hudgens uses the outlines of the debate as a frame for explication. He avoids the semantic hairsplitting of language philosophy and the willful obscurantism of much post-structural cultural criticism, focusing instead on the bedrock material of traditional literary scholarship - the artist's own words and works. An example of Hudgens' method is his reference to Barthelme's interest in architectural theory, where the debate between modernists and postmodernists has produced manifestos on both sides. Barthleme's interest in architecture was both personal - his father was an architect - and philosophical. He found a corollary to his own linguistic pioneering in the contemporary theoretical struggle within architecture, a struggle pitting practitioners of established formal approaches against innovators seeking new expressive possibilities. Much as "po-mo architects" seek alternatives to the inherited language of 20th century architecture, Barthelme sought new ways of expressing his own brand of literary realism. As in other manifestations of post-modernism, the defining feature of postmodern architecture is, in the words of Fredrick Jameson, the "effacement of the frontier between high culture and so-called mass or commercial culture." High modernism in architecture is associated with Utopianism, elitistism, and authoritarianism and is credited with destroying the urban fabric of traditional neighborhoods by transplanting Utopian structures and plans into the context of pre-modern cities. Le Corbusier's statement that "architecture has for its first duty...bringing about a revision of values" may be seen as the ultimate expression of high modernist values in the realms of architecture and city planning. This magisterial view is countered by one of Bartheleme's artistic touchstones, the architect and critic, Robert Venturi, whose postmodernism presents itself as a brand of architectural populism. Venturi's Learning from Las Vegas is widely regarded as one of postmodernism's most lucid declarations. In it, he celebrates eclectic diversity and scorns the unidirectional methodology of modern architects and planners. Is a particular work a "magisterial pronouncement," a "master-narrative" in the tradition of high modernism? Is it the product of a literature of inclusion, of healthy populism, heterogeneity? Is it, that is, Venturi-like? Or, as critics such as Frederick Jameson contend, is post-modernism a faux populism with a deeply disguised political agenda? The literary critic's task is to untangle these and other issues. By combining pertinent details of Barthelme's biography with a New Critic's view of literature as an internally unified structure of meaning, Hudgens avoids theoretical campaigning and illuminates the tension in Barthleme's work between tradition and Ezra's Pound's old directive - make it new.

Review of Donald Barthelme, Postmodern American Writer By John J. Dunn, Ph.D.

Dr. Michael Hudgens has written a scholarly and provocative book on Donald Barthelme and his position in the cultural phenomenon called Postmodernism. He has succeeded very well in analyzing Barthelme's often difficult fiction and relating it to other significant examples of Postmodernism in literature and art.

For example, his analysis of the innovative story "On Angels" is unusually perceptive. It reveals how Barthelme tries to come to terms with traditional theology in an age which often questions the existence of God. Obviously, Barthelme has been strongly influenced by his Catholic background, particularly Thomism (the five "proofs" for the existence of God, etc.). Hudgens comments cogently on both the wit and the experimental technique of this startling story. Calling The Dead Father Barthelme's best novel, he provides a detailed exegesis of this brilliant, complex work-a haunting fictional examination of the ambiguities which drive family relationships. In this chapter, Hudgens authenticates the accuracy of the author's assertion that he sought "a meditation upon external reality" in his fiction.

Besides providing clear and explicit analyses of Barthelme's novels and short stories, Hudgens traces the similarities between this fiction and other works associated with Modernism and Postmodernism. He reveals, for instance, a deep understanding of James Joyce and his many-faceted contributions to Twentieth Century literature. His tudy of "The Dead" constitutes perhaps the most powerful and insightful segment of his book. He is also obviously a member of that distinguished minority of literary scholars who actually understand Finnegans Wake. . . .

Hudgens expertly refutes many of the broader criticisms of Postmodernism contained in John Gardner's On Moral Fiction (1978). He is fair-minded and judicious in his response to this controversial work, but he makes a convincing case that Gardner grossly underestimates the seriousness and substantiality of much Postmodernist literature and art.

Aside from its honest and meticulous scholarship, Donald Barthelme: Postmodernist American Writer is unusually readable for a scholarly tom of this sort. Quotations are carefully selected and are integrated smoothly into the text. Hudgens' style is lucid, often even elegant and witty. He manages to avoid the tortured syntax and overly cerebral vocabulary of many learned works of criticism. Furthermore, he is never afraid to use humor or irony when a lighter note is appropriate.

Donald Barthelme: Postmodernism American Writer is a major critical study of an increasingly respected fiction writer. It will be a valued addition to the growing body of scholarship surrounding Barthelme's writing and its position in the Postmodernist movement.

Almost everything Donald Barthelme wrote is worth reading, though almost none of it is easy reading. This collection of stories is no exception to either.

A wonderful collection of classic stories my a master of surrealist short fiction. These pieces are thirty years old now but they're still hip and fresh and very funny. Barthelme is Wodehouse on acid.

"Paradise", although out of print, is worth the search. Barthelme's neurotically postmodern and pre-millenial prose never fails to astonish in its originality. The completely unlikely tale of 53 year old Simon, an architect from Philadelphia, and his three concubines is made realistic through terrific dialogue and bang-on sarcastic humour. If you enjoy authors like Martin Amis or Russell Banks, "Paradise" is worth the trip to the library--or the wait until it is back in print.

The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine has been one of my favorite books all of my life. The illustrations are a wonderful hodgepodge of old etchings which tell you just enough of the story to get your imagination going. The story is fun and whimsical. I could make endless variations of this story when I was young for hours of entertainment. If you have a child this is definitely a creative must have for your library.

The critical consensus on Donald Barthelme is that he basically reinvented the short story during his lifetime (he died in 1989). While there is some exaggeration involved in this assessment -- at times, Barthelme seems to be doing nothing much more than channeling Kafka -- his work is unique, inventive, and experimental in the best sense of the word. The present collection contains many of his occasional and "lighter" works. A number of them, for example, originally appeared as unsigned pieces in "The New Yorker". If the collections "Sixty Stories" and "Forty Stories" can be seen as Barthelme's greatest hits, then "The Teachings of Don B." can be seen as the B-sides. The subtitle of the book calls this a collection of "satires, parodies, fables, illustrated stories, and plays," and the description fits. The title story is a send-up of Carlos Castenada's "Don Juan" books, and on the whole the volume is marked by a certain air of lightness and good humor. There is a stretch in the middle, consisting mainly of works that originally appeared between chapters in the book "Overnight to Many Distant Cities", that is somewhat slower and more ponderous than the surrounding text, but it doesn't last for long. Of particular interest are the illustrated stories, where the text is complimented by collages made from old photographs and illustrations, somewhat in the manner of the Surrealists. My only complaint about this book is the inclusion of three short plays at the end. While interesting, they don't quite mesh with the rest of the volume, and could easily have been published on their own. The collection also features an introduction by Thomas Pynchon, which in itself it worth the price of admission.

With the possible exception of Thomas Pynchon, there isn't a writer around, living or dead (that I know of--I haven't read them all), who gives us a funnier, more accurate understanding of the absurdity of late twentieth-century existence than Barthelme, and it's good to have these previously uncollected pieces in one volume. The quality of this book is, I believe, remarkably even, but some pieces hit me harder than others. No one could have written "Here's the Ed Sullivan Show" but DB; what an eye the guy had!

Read this book (or SIXTY STORIES or SNOW WHITE) and you will not be able to look at the world in the same way again. DB knew better than most what petty, unexamined, selfish lives we live (but this is not to say that DB was mean spirited). Does he give solutions? Sort of, but not solutions that I am capable of paraphrasing. There may be readers for whom DB's teachings will seem pointless and not worth the trouble. (To them I say, "Back to your Grisham and Steele!") But for most of the rest of us--as bombarded as we are with insulting campaign pitches, thisandthat.com (!) ads, news of how the market is making us all wealthy, endless blockbuster film versions of mediocre TV shows, more tripe about what a great president Reagan was and on and on--DB can function as a sort of philosophical ophtalmologist with a rare antidote that will both make us laugh at and feel a bit grim about our consumer society.

I have never read anything this hilarious. It's perfectly balanced, too: Barthelme never goes too far or too short. Also get the "40 Stories" which in my opinion are much better than the 60.

This is one of those books that it's easy to get a lot from, and leaves you with endless questions as well. It's one that makes you laugh out loud and makes you say "Huh?" an awful lot.

One of the many things I enjoyed about this book is the interweaving of elements from the original tale and the Disney version (Heigh-ho!) The rhythmn of the narrative almost made me snap my fingers along to the beat. And the originality within a retold story put me in mind of Anne Sexton's work with fairy tales, but with a decidedly comic view.

With layer upon layer (which I can't seem to get enough of) that extends from the solidarity of modern relationships to the questions of "How unique is the American culture? Can it be preserved?" I saw many examples where exploration is encouraged.

But many many many questions linger. First and foremost: Who is the narrator? More like: Which is the narrator? All of the "seven dwarfs", or just one? Are the all facets of one person? I could really go on all day.

This is truly a book worthy of a second, third, and fourth read. There is just too much for my little mind to grasp at once, but definately a novel that entertains as well as, (and I hate this phrase but...) "makes you think."

This tale, aside from retelling the Snow White fable, is chalk full of references to the Frog Prince, Robin Hood, and Tarzan. This, along with depicting the reaction to late '60's mentalities and theories (structuralism, socialism--hippy communalism, deconstructionism, and so forth), makes for a disjointed narrative. Of course, that is the point. Midway through the novel I realized that, as one reviewer wrote, Burroughs's cut-up method might have been used, for one cannot be sure when the events in the novel take place--in what order. Yet with Burroughs one is sure of this, with Barthelme, framing the society in which he wrote, it is intentional that one is not quite sure when, or even what, is happening. And with all of Barthelme's works, this is full of satire and black humor.

EM Forster asked in his famous Aspects of the Novel why can't the novel invent a form less rigid and more suitable to its genius. I agree. So much of what is served up these days to the public is a waste of time and obviously exists simply for commercial purposes. Not Snow White. Here we have real literature with a capital L and here we have real imagination too. Based on the original tale, alert readers will love how a master writer converts the simple to the complex, the silly to the profound, and yet keeps us entertained as he goes. Oh, I know in this democratic era questions of elitism are de trop. But so what? Go ahead and read an elitist book. It won't hurt and you will have a lot of fun in the process.

This collection has many great short stories within it. Often, within this book, Barthelme shows himself to be an extremely creative and insightful writer. "Jaws" is a good example of this. Basically, it's a story about how people deal with their dissatisfaction in relationship; how lovers cope with significant others' inevitable inability to meet all their (the lovers') expectations. It follows a workers at a local A & P while he mediates the relationship of two customers (who are married to each other). He acts as a sort of counciler in their marriage. The interaction between the couple is extremely humorous, and yet very sad (as, I suppose, dysfunction can often be). It's an excellent piece of work, and it deals with a common theme throughout this collection: The dissatisfaction of couples in long-lasting relationships. "Chablis," "The Genius," and "Paul Klee..." are also all excellent short stories. They exhibit Barthelme's ability to be humorous and yet still get at an interesting/serious point (that is, not lose himself in zaniness).

After such praise, however, I must admit that this collection isn't without flaw. Out of the forty stories that are included in this book, I felt that about ten of them could have been pruned away. These stories (for example, "On the Deck," and "Blue Beard") seemed unfulfilled, and worse, overwritten. These, perhaps could have used a little more focus on content rather than style. It's true with almost any collection of short stories that not all of them are good, enjoyable, or interesting (that is, not all of them will catch your imagination). However, with this book there seemed to be quite a few of those. So despite the fact that many of the stories in this collection are great, I'm only giving it three stars.

I would recomend this to anyone in search of a humorous, challenging read. I would also, recomend this to someone who is interested in cutting edge, stylized short stories (after all 25-30 of them in this collection are very good). Many of the short stories in this collection are written in an unusual manner. For instance, "The Bodygaurd" is compose almost entirely of questions. I'm also of the opinion that those of you who like both Kurt Vonnegut jr. and Thomas Pynchon would find this collection interesting.

Donald Barthelme is one of the very few masters of the short short story. The only others that come to mind are Saki, Borges, and Franz Kakfa. Few of the stories in this collection extend past three pages. All are marked by the same virtues evident throughout the collection: surreality, inventiveness, enormous humor, a sensitivity to our collective culture. Some have commented on the collection being uneven. Perhaps. But the stories are quite diverse, and I suspect that what some find uneven is actually their diversity, some of them appealing more to one's particular bias more than others.

This is a great collection for shaking up your perception, for making you reconceptualize the short story form. Anyone liking these stories should go on to try some Saki (the author, not the beverage). Although not as surreal as Barthelme, his stories are just as short, just as funny, and just as delightful.

During Barthelme's lifetime, I think many readers thought that his work would permanently alter the short story form. He achieved such powerful effects; his stories were so funny, so moving, so original and offbeat, and yet so deceptively simple and effortless-seeming. I certainly expected that other writers would come along and produce similar stories, since he had shown how it should be done, and we would be innundated with Barthelme-like fiction. But I don't think that's really happened. There have been imitators, of course, but they've been mostly embarrassingly flat, replacing the master's edgy brilliance with silly incoherence. Barthelme defies all imitators; his stories continue to stand as one-of-a-kind monuments, written in a truly singular voice by a truly singular talent, to urban life in the late 20th century. Read them. I particularly love "The Genius," with its poignant and yet absurd portrait of the world's most brilliant man, and "At the Tolstoy Musuem," with its hilarious drawings of the great author's supposedly gargantuan coat, etc. It's funny because it's (somehow) true, like all of his work. "40 Stories" is the best introduction to Barthelme, so if you don't know him, this is the place to start.

In his review of "American Beauty," the New Yorker movie critic David Denby writes, "I can think of no other American movie that sets us tensions with smarty pants social satire and resolves them with a burst of metaphysics." The same can be said for many of the stories in this collection. The first three fourth's of "The School," for example, is narrated with the deadpan cool that predominated in popular eighties minimalism. It is textbook black humor. But "The School" ends with a poetic riff on cultural relativism, exposing everything that came before in the story, and giving us a glimpse of the narrator's frailties. And then with the final two lines, Barthelme throws in an oddball joke, making the story even more uncertain. It's like on The Simpsons, when you get their craziest, surreal joke right before a commercial break. A Barthelme story simultaneously invites interpretation and outguesses the reader.

Another great thing about both Barthelme's stories and "American Beauty" is that when a narrative stradles that border between reality and parody, the characters get away with making the most straightforward thematic statements. In "The Seargent," a story about a middle aged man who somehow finds himself stuck in the army again, the narrator keeps repeating, "This is all a mistake. I'm not supposed to be here," etc. "Of course I deserve this." If the protagonist of a realistic, mid-life crisis story made these statements it would be interpreted as too obvious. Suspension of disbelief might be violated. When the situation is absurd, however, the characters can be beautifully direct. Artificial people bemoaning the fact that they are bound within an artificial form can be very poignant to us real people bound by necessity. Our situations are curiously congruent.

This is my favorite book. It reminds me a lot of when I was a kid and I had a favorite toy. It is informed by the French noveau roman novel, though less dark, where the experience of reading is given primacy over the experience of the characters. If I had simply bought the book and read the stories in order then put it back on the shelf, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the enjoyment that I did out of it. This book is in my library and I go to the shelf and peruse through it whenever I need a break from studying. It has so much play and creativity. Barthelme has said that collage is the dominant twentieth century art form. Pieces of writing that resemble advertising copy or quips from a political documentary, are juxtaposed with philosophical discursiveness. And the humor, fortunately, keeps it from getting overly pretentious, though some might find it pretentious at first. I've talked to a number of readers who think Barthelme is just faddish, conceited and intentionally obscure. If you find that's the case, I encourage you to give it time. Especially if you're a fan of contemporary short stories. If not for any other reason, it'll give you a new perspective on Lorrie Moore and Raymond Carver, among others. If I had to choose favorites, I'd say "Kierkegaard Unfair to Schlegel" and "Robert Kennedy Saved from Drowning," but all the stories in this book are worth it.

Donald Barthelme is probably the inimitable writer of the twentieth century and this collection is the best way to introduce yourself to his works. Included are selections from eight volumes he published between the years of 1964 and 1979 as well as a number of previously uncollected stories. What stikes one most about this collection is the sustained brilliance over the course of all 60 inclusions. While not every story is a classic and not every story hits the bullseye one has to admire the ambition packed and effort with which each is attempted, especially when one considers that few exist in a framework of more than six or seven pages. The stories in this collection that do work, and they are in the far majority, are startling in their ability to catch the reader off guard and deliver their short, compact punch. "Game", "A City of Churches" and "The School" are among these highlights, beautiful in their ability to transmit their message with such clarity and intensity, yet with such ease, virtuosity and good humor.

All that said, I feel I should qualify this review by saying that Barthelme is rarely easy reading. His narratives are so remarkably compact and so tightly wound that reading one straight through is something quite akin to venturing through an underwater cave, not coming up for air until the very end. It can be a difficuly experience, requiring intense concentration but the payoff is very worth the effort.

Barthelme's stories are short and spectacular. He is probably the postmodernist (Man, I hate that word, but what else can you call it?) writer with the most understanding of the language. Some passages are beautiful, some disturbing, some confusing. I don't think there's a story in this volume that doesn't deserve to be read twice, and some ("The Indian Uprising","The Emerald","Daumier") should be read far more frequently.

If you have any interest in absurd fiction, then Barthelme is the man for you, and ths volume gives a broad selection of his best work.