Book Reviews on Postmodern Fiction

House of Leaves, a breakthrough novel by Mark Z. Danielewski, is one of the prime examples of postmodern ergodic literature; in fact, it is written and organized in such a way as to become a textbook example of the genre for all aspiring postmodern writers to read and learn from for years to come. It has everything: reconstruction and deconstruction of traditional images, myths and storylines; combination of genres normally considered to be both high and low, numerous references to the intertextual nature of the book, fantastic elements and much, much more. House of Leaves begins as a rather commonplace, if ponderous, horror story – an unreliable narrator Johnny Truant stumbles upon a manuscript or, rather, a collection of loosely connected notes constituting an amateurish critical analysis of a documentary movie called The Navidson Record, accompanied by copious footnotes referring to academia written on the subject of the said movie. The only problem being that, as far as Johnny Truant manages to find out, both the movie itself and the vast majority of literature mentioned in the manuscript don’t actually exist. The Navidson Record tells about a photojournalist Will Navidson moving into a new house with his family; only to discover that this house is much more than a living space. Its spatial structure defies the laws of physics, it is larger on the inside than it is on the outside, new rooms appear out of nowhere, the atmosphere of uneasiness permeates everything. The longer they live in this new place, the more threatening the house gets – and this atmosphere of uneasiness, of things not being what they are supposed to be is masterfully reflected in unusual formatting and structure of the novel. It finally becomes clear (as clear as anything gets in this book) that the house is closely connected with the myth of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur; in a sense, the house is the labyrinth. But it is just one of the ways to understand it. The text itself is a labyrinth, with its constant references and cross-references, footnotes occupying pages at a time, weird formatting, text going sideways, diagonally or back to front – all reflecting the more and more confused state of mind of Johnny Truant, Will Navidson and, by extension, the reader. As the things happening in the book get weirder, intertextuality reaches its climax: the boundaries between book and reality begin to blur. Navidson reads a book about Navidson, the book read by the reader, the book in which Navidson is reading a book. It might have been cheesy somewhere else, but Danielewski manages to pull this trick off, making the reader doubt for a moment his or her own reality or, for that matter, the unreality of what happens in the book. In other words, House of Leaves is certainly a masterpiece of postmodern prose, a work that certainly proves that ergodic literature isn’t just pretentious nonsense created for the sake of being different – its principles can be used to a great effect, creating an impression impossible to be rendered in any other way.

The State Of The Wichita State University - 1103 Words

Kansas has been ranked 17th in the nation for proportion of students taking on debt. Along with the already high average, Kansas legislature has continued to make cuts on the budget of universities in the state. With the cuts, universities in Kansas are forced to find income to replace the deplenishing government funds. Previous attempts to solve this problem have been made, such as raising tuition and the cost of programs. Students and parents alike are affected and concerned over the rapidly increasing cost of this hometown school. Students come to Wichita State University for not only the in-state tuition but also to get a quality degree. With tuition on a rise due to Kansas Legislature continuing to cut general funds to Wichita State University, the school must search for revenue else where. The loss of potential exposure and revenue of Wichita State University can be solved by the recreation of the Wichita State Football team. With millennial already consisting of the highest am ount of people out of work in a given generation according to a study done by USA Today; students and parents have reason to be concerned. If the price of the college continues to rise, those who are trying to face the obstacle of getting a quality education without the out of state cost will be forced to search for an education elsewhere, if not go out of state entirely. This problem is solvable as athletics for most universities makes the college thousands. For example, the University ofShow MoreRelatedMy Percussion Instruction At Wichita State University1472 Words   |  6 Pagespercussion instruction at the local university was year round. I was driving with my mom heading to Wichita State University. The plan next week was finally to get my full driver’s license, so this was one of our last trips together for a while. She tended to enjoy the back neighborhood route, to Wichita State University, which lead us to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The route we took each week lead us through the beautiful historical neighborhoods in Wichita Kansas. This established residentialRead MoreI Want to Be a Physical Therapist1409 Words   |  6 Pagesagain (bls.gov). There are many schools that have a Doctor of Physical therapy program. The school I am interested in pursuing to get my Doctorate of Physical therapy is Wichita State University. Wichita State is a four year division one college located in Wichita Kansas. Students in the physical therapy program at Wichita State will learn how to use advanced equipment and the most sophisticated technology at a hands on facility. Furthermore, they will use these experiences to further their knowledgeRead More BTK Killings Essay example602 Words   |  3 Pages Dennis Rader was born on March 9th, 1945. He grew up in Park City, Kansas just outside of Wichita. His parents were William and Dorothea Rader. Both have passed away. Dennis has 3 brothers, Jeff, Paul and Bill Rader. He regulary attended church and was a compliance officer and also installed security systems. Rader was married on May 22nd, 1971 to Paula. They have 2 kids, Brian Rader and Kerri Lynn Rader. Brian is 31 years old and kerri is 28 years old. His daughter Kerri is currently living inRead MoreA Speech On Public Speaking1089 Words   |  5 Pages SPCH 100 A – PUBLIC SPEAKING FRIENDS UNIVERSITY SPEECH CRITIQUE On the morning of October 27th I attended a Friends University Chapel program in alumni auditorium and I listened to a jazz band and prayed with my fellow classmates. I knew there would be a guest speaker at some point during the service and I was excited to hear her speech. We prayed, sang a few songs and then got ready for our guest speaker. Marla Schmidt was introduced and sheRead MoreThe Relationship Between Sadism And Its Effects On Children1398 Words   |  6 Pagesserial killer I chose for this assignment is Dennis Rader. Rader is known as one of the most demonic serial killers in American history. In the 1970’s he terrified Wichita, Kansas with his horrific murders, then he vanished. Dennis Rader is an American serial killer who murdered at least 10 people in Sedgwick County in and around Wichita, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. He was known as the BTK killer in which was self titled, (or the BTK strangler), which stands for Bind, Torture and Kill, a suitableRead MoreE ssay on Childhood Obesity1000 Words   |  4 Pagestackle the problems of obesity. The number of overweight youth has more than doubled in the past thirty years according to an article, Is Physical Education Becoming an Oxymoron written by Vicki Worrel, a Physical Education professor at Wichita State University. In addition, fifteen percent out of nine million children, ages six to nineteen, are overweight according to the article The Growing Cost of Obesity. Obesity is one of our nations largest and most expensive health problems. Obese childrenRead MoreA Brief Note On Iowa Beef Packers ( Ibp )950 Words   |  4 Pagesprofits of $198 million on sales of $12.5 billion back in 1997 (Hettena, Seth. 1997). Today, Iowa Beef Packers (IBP) is one of four companies including ConAgra, National Beef and Excel that collectively comprise the meatpacking industry in United States. Excel is a subsidiary of Cargill, which alone controls 85 percent of the market (Gzedit. 2001). Unions, which are in place to prevent workers’ rights from being overlooked, now find themselve s far removed from the locations of factories owned byRead MoreIf I Am Being Honest798 Words   |  4 Pagessome of these careers, I have developed the abilities needed to thrive at HBS and in the business world beyond. I grew up in an extremely conservative family in a small town outside of Wichita, Kansas. I was homeschooled through high school and was taught to distrust the education system, especially universities. As a result, academics took a back seat to my parent’s antiquated beliefs and paranoia as well as my own personal interests. My focus was primarily on basketball which provided an outletRead MoreIncident Report Essay854 Words   |  4 PagesOn 12/16/2017, I, Dillon Dickerson, badge #155, was working as a Patrol Officer for the Wichita State University Police Department, in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. While driving in lot 20 which is located behind Wilner Auditorium I heard a loud banging sound. From past experiences it sounded like someone ran over multiple barrel cones. On 17th street they are doing construction from 17th and Hillside to 17th and Oliver. I arrived in the area of 17th and Hillside at approximently 0235 hoursRead MorePhil Mcgraw798 Words   |  4 PagesKansas. In 1968 he was awarded a football scholarship to the university of Tulsa, where he played middle linebacker under coach Glen Dobbs. On November 23 of the year Dr. phil. Team lost to U of H 100-6 which is one of the most lopsided games in college football history the coach had retired after that and D.Phil. transferred to Midwestern State University in Wichita falls Texas. D.Phil. graduated in 1975 from Midwestern State University with a B.A. degree in psychology. He went on to earn a M.A

This Is No Fairytail(2015) by Carach Angren free essay sample

Do you like Hansel and Gretel? Do you like Black Metal? then youre gonna love this. Carach Angren is a Dutch symphonic blck metal band that seems to like turning classic fairytails into something of a horror film, and that will show here as well so brace yourself. The biggest win on this album is that it tells the story of Hansel and Gretel but as a more demented form of the story or even as they perceive it as which is good. As we all know music is a form of art meaning that you or the artist can interprete something completely different from the same thing. The problem is that you can stop at any time and come back knowing where you left off, at least for me, which means the story is way too easy to go through it isnt a one shot thing unlike Metropolis Part 2 by Dream Theater. We will write a custom essay sample on This Is No Fairytail(2015) by Carach Angren or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That aside, I see that the witch fried Hansel to bits, their parents die in the most devestating fashions and Gretel seems to be falling down a cliff seemingly to her doom only to be found back at her home, all alone. This is a masterpiece of an album and shouldnt be something to sneeze at for how well they portray this untimely classic. One of the best of the year so far and I recommend you give it a listen. 9/10.