Erasure: A Novel

Never knew if this author, now I have secured some other works by him.But this novel here? Lemme flesh-out the title I gave it: The interaction between his family, so intimately painted, is warts-an'-all honest and deep into the psyche of family, and I'm sure it transcends a "black" family. As such the realism is there.Then there's the inventiveness of his prose. Take Italicized, little throw-away bits that so vague and strange, but yet they betray the protagonist's intellectual depth, the depth of a black professor who sees himself as a man and not merely a black man.Most memorable, however, is his dilemma as he struggles as a writer expected to stick to only being a black writer, and how he ends trapped within the lie he fashioned to stick it to them and ends up sticking to himself, yet learns accept it and survive and support himself a mother afflicted with Alzheimer's in a racist society."ERASURE," will also be memorable for me especially, just another I'm just another black writer left with the choice to dance the black ministrels' dance or fight for my visibility in a society in which I may be invisible as a human, but caught in a searchlight, as a black man doomed to parochial outlooks.

Both funny and intellectually challenging, this was such a complex and witty story. I could empathize with all the zanyness and distress the protagonist encountered throughout the novel

Erasure, a great book full of satire with a great dramatic storyline that's realistic to many of us in middle age. Like the movie, the book presents a seldom seen depiction of Black life that I find identifiable and so welcome. He prose is wonderfully sly. I've noticed it in this book nd "Dr. No" and it's enough inertia to venture to his other titles with eager anticipation.

or start with the title, a word much in vogue these days, though this novel was written in 2001. in 1967, the french critic and theorist, roland barthes wrote his essay, The Death of the Author, a glance backward at the philosophical concept of erasure. for barthes’ purposes, a finished book no longer belongs to the author inasmuch as the text is open to the reader’s interpretation, the absent author, in a sense, is dead, erased, but present as is the author, that is, not cancelled as the word erasure is used these days.everett’s protagonist, the author, thelonius ellison, writes fiction influenced by french literary theory of the 1960s and 70s and what was known as the ‘new novel’. early in the story, ellison reads a paper on one of barthe’s books at a conference held in washington dc, the place of ellison’s birth, his mother and sister still living there. as expected, few readers buy the kind of fiction ellison writes. ellison accepts his calling with a zen like mien, working with his hands, doing carpentry, constructing chairs while thinking of philosophy and, as an angler, tying flies while thinking of abstract artists. stress shakes his tranquility when his mother slips into dementia and another black novelist pens a book about black urban life as stereotypical and becomes a literary success, the latter sending ellison into a near rage. he writes the most demeaning novel he can conceive under a pen name, here’s that erasure, gives the manuscript to his agent who wonders if he’s lost his mind along with his integrity, and the rest, well, you have to read the book.it’s a brilliant piece of metafiction, of a story within a story, a parody of ralph ellison’s Invisible Man, of language as theory and culture and how language might look for someone inside dementia, and of what influences writing, the literary influences and non-literary influences.

I purchased the book after watching the movie American Fiction. The only thing I didn't like about the book was some of the embedded narratives that I found completely irrelevant. The overall story I loved. The relationship with his family especially his mom was heart-felt. Well-written and humorous at times. What was written to "rub their noses in it" became very profitable.

This book was interesting to read. I mostly read it before I watched the movie. I think the movie will be better. I didn’t understand why the Hitler references, and all the boring English gobbledygook. I felt sad for the main character who was suddenly successful but had no more family in his life and he was alone. If he would have just written books about what was going on in his life or made characters from the people in his own life I’m sure he’d have been much happier and less suicidal feelings than being a hermit. Honestly, I wouldn’t buy this book again if I knew how bad it was. As a disclaimer I’m white, and really think that blacks have the same chance to living a good life the same as a white person does but it’s the decisions one makes in their lives and if you associate with losers you’ll be a loser. You associate with a winner till be a winner. Winning in life is about the choices you make and the life you want to live.

Good read. I found myself skipping through the novel within ( I get it…). A writer’s read.

I genuinely loved this book! It has so many stories into one that all come together. Each character seems so real and alive.. I definitely will be reading more books by the author. I made the mistake of watching the adaption to the book on Netflix called " American Fiction " it is trash compared to the book

Um livro mergulhado na cultura americana com seus valores, suas contradições e suas idiossincrasias. Obra crítica a respeito da cultura contemporânea, muito bem escrita. O protagonista vive situações e expõe pensamentos inusitados mas de forma divertida, ironica e muito bem humorada. Tive momentos de boas gargalhadas lendo o livro, gargalhadas que depois ficam dolorosas quando começamos a pensar sobre a realidade, as pressões e o momento cultural que nos circunda. Ótimo livro, recomendo muito.

A somewhat weird but interesting read. Four well-deserved stars for thus autor

Nel libro c'è un racconto nel racconto, cioè lo pseudo libro scritto in uno slang da ghetto che frutta immensa popolarità all'autore. E' molto lungo per essere un mero scherzo e dopo un po' stufa. Certo è uno script vivace, molto articolato e ricco di spunti. Molte circostanze sono tipiche degli USA e richiamano motivi di grande attualità nella realtà politico-sociale americana, forse un po' meno in Italia, come l'aborto, la polizia che spara senza molto discriminare, le differenze razziali, la demenza senile. Da leggere se avete del tempo, altrimenti meglio guardarsi il film.

Where do I start, this book was just such a pleasure to read. It is comical, very honest, but most of all it is so heartwarming.As a reader you just come help but feel for the main character Monk, whether it be through the obstacles he faces an an author or with his home life.Certainly if not in my top 10 books of all time, then most definitely in my top 20.

I am a big fan of Percival Everett and his books. Characters and plots are so insanely unpredictable. This book talks about a writer, consumer taste and the madness of the publishing industry. Quite relateable to what one can see on the book market throughout the last years. Great!