Its one of the oldest and most persistent hypotheticals haunting our collective dream life. From an astonishing writer toni morrison, the savagely funny story of a couple who unexpectedly come into some money. Taking risks throughout the book, wright creates liberty fishs. Going native has the impact of an xacto knife slitting open the bloated belly of american life. Processed cheese by stephen wright, hardcover barnes. The amalgamation polka by stephen wright, 97805712313, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Liberty fish is born in 1844 to an uncommon set of parents. The introduction, discussion questions, author biography, and suggestions for further reading that follow are intended to enhance your groups discussion of stephen wrights ferocious and phantasmagoric novel the amalgamation polka.
For wright, america, past and present, is wonderland, a place of marvels and horrors from which not. A his new york, staunchly abolitionist parents named him liberty and schooled him at home. What is the significance of the novels opening vignette. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this m31 study guide and get instant access to the. Download books offline, listen to several books continuously, choose. Boiling with anger and calm, cruelty and compassion, horror and laughoutloud humor, the amalgamation polka perfectly captures not only the human experience but also what it means to be an american. Praise for stephen wright meditations in green 1983 precisely that brutal hallucination we desperately wanted to end. Ive now read all his books, my favorite being the amalgamation polka. Waterbrook multnomah a weekly email newsletter listing ebook deals, special promotions, and updates on new releases and book related events. The plot concerns the story of liberty fish and his travels after joining the union army.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Army intelligence school and the iowa writers workshop. Awards and grants include the maxwell perkins prize, the hodder fellowship, a whiting writers award, a guggenheim, and a lannan literary award. A family romance, carnivalesque novel on a serial killer going native, to a picaresque taking place during the civil war the amalgamation polka. Online book going native by stephen wright view acquire. Stephen wright was educated at the iowa writers workshop. Explore books by stephen wright with our selection at. The amalgamation polka 2006 is the fourth novel by the writer stephen wright. Toni morrison the amalgamation polka 2007 an extravagantly talented novelist.
The amalgamation polka describes the activities of the fish and maury families of upstate new york and south carolina respectively in the period before and after the american civil war. Bestsellers new releases recommended award winners coming soon free public domain free premium 50% off 50 specials browse all. Stephen wrights fresh vision of precivil war america, the amalgamation polka, will leave readers dazzled when they are not confused, says jay parini. Be the first to ask a question about the amalgamation polka. The amalgamation polka vintage contemporaries stephen wright on. Of those, only going native and the amalgamation polka are currently in print. Suppose a big bag of money drops from the sky right in front of. Wright s title refers to a racist editorial cartoon of the period, which depicted an amalgamation polka, where whites and blacks dance together in genteel costumes.
The amalgamation polka by stephen wright, paperback barnes. Meditations in green by stephen wright, paperback barnes. Online book going native by stephen wright view acquire djvu pc finder tablet ibooks. Start your 48 hour free trial to unlock this meditations in green study guide and. Buy the amalgamation polka main by wright, stephen isbn. The amalgamation polka by stephen wright goodreads. Wright squeezes nearly every feature of the nineteenthcentury novel into this fat sausage of a book. In this offbeat civil war novel, a young abolitionist comes to terms with his. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this going native study guide and get instant access to the following.
This was meant to suggest, one presumes, that other mutually enjoyable physical activities might occur between the races later in the evening. The amalgamation polka showcases not only the brutality of this tragic passage in american history, but also its surprising compassion and hope. Wright puts together a great cast of characters that he cleverly weaves throughout the novel. In the dark, hallucinatory world of stephen wrights fiction, the american dream has not so quietly morphed into the american nightmare. I was wondering why this is and i came to the conclusion that that book, in addition to being lyrical, has the most narrative thrust to it. Books for the journey a monthly email newsletter highlighting new and bestselling nonfiction christian books from todays top christian voices like jennie allen, randy alcorn, liz curtis higgs, tim. The amalgamation polka by stephen wright, paperback. Stephen wright audiobooks download instantly today. In language both true to its time and completely modern, it is revelatory and mesmerizing, a novel that will bring a smile to your own lips as it sets your brain on fire. Read the amalgamation polka by stephen wright available from rakuten kobo.
I think stephen wright is an incredibly talented albeit flawed writer. Don delillo the best that any fiction about this war has offered. Fort worth startelegramendlessly beguiling by an extravagantly talented novelist. Michael emerson born in 1844 in upstate new york as the child of ardent abolitionists, liberty fish finds his life influenced also by his grandparents, carolina slaveholders, a conflict that he struggles to resolve. The amalgamation polka by stephen wright is precisely such a book. Narrator michael emerson would be commended if he had merely gotten through it all without stumbling, but his flawless, controlled delivery becomes the thread for this rambunctious tale of a boy growing up with abolitionist parents and slaveowning grandparents. The amalgamation polka in this sweeping civil war novel, stephen wright s understanding of america trumps delillos or pynchons, and his writing rivals toni morrisons. Through passages gorgeous, agonizing, and surreal, stephen wright paints a searing portrait of a nation driven to. With the amalgamation polka, stephen wright has transformed the historical novel genre into an experimental, postmodern art form.
Stephen wright born 1946 is a novelist based in new york city known for his use of surrealistic imagery and dark comedy. Download audiobooks narrated by michael emerson at and save. Wrights title refers to a racist editorial cartoon of the period, which depicted an amalgamation polka, where whites and blacks dance together in genteel costumes. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Read processed cheese a novel by stephen wright available from rakuten kobo. The amalgamation polka by stephen wright books the. His work has varied from hallucinatory accounts of war meditations in green, a family drama among ufo cultists m31. Nine years among the indians, 18701879 audiobook herman. Editions of the amalgamation polka by stephen wright. It is set during the time of the american civil war. The amalgamation polka vintage contemporaries stephen wright on amazon. People surefooted, looselimbed, lyrical, perverse, and deeply, alarmingly funny, going native is just about as deadon crazy as the american novel so desperately needs to be if the form intends to survive the century. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the amalgamation polka. Stephen wright is a new yorkbased novelist known for his use of surrealistic imagery and dark comedy.
Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this meditations in green study guide and. Weve decided to keep guardian journalism free for all readers. The childhood life lesson he learned best was to avoid judging people and to abhor slavery. Stephen wrights fourth novel is set during the us civil war and the years leading up to it. Processed cheese ebook by stephen wright rakuten kobo. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. A family romance 1st edition 1st printing by wright, stephen isbn. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel. He has taught at princeton university, brown university, and the new school. I like stephen wright enough that im going to read all his stuff, this one being just my second.