The Interrogative Mood

Padgett Powell

Jan 2010 · Profile Books

About this ebook

'If Duchamp or maybe Magritte wrote a novel (and maybe they did. Did they?) it might look something like this remarkable little book of Padgett Powell's: immensely readable, ingenious, witty, and ultimately important-feeling in a way you can't quite describe but don't need to' Richard FordThrough a seemingly random but infinitely artful series of questions this small masterpiece mysteriously, elusively, hilariously, compellingly lights up life.Are your emotions pure? Are your nerves adjustable? How do you stand in relation to the potato? Should it still be Constantinople? Does a nameless horse make you more nervous or less nervous than a named horse? In your view, do children smell good? ... Does your doorbell ever ring? Is there sand in your craw? Could Mendeleyev place you correctly in a square on a chart of periodic identities, or would you resonate all over the board? How many push-ups can you do?

About the author

Padgett Powell has received the Prix de Rome of the American Academy of Arts & Letters, a Whiting Writer's Award, & a nomination for the National Book Award for his first novel, "Edisto." He resides in Gainesville, Florida.