Now for the first time, three of Markson s masterpieces are compiled into one pa
ge-turning volume: "This Is Not a Novel," "Vanishing Point," and "The Last Novel
." In "This Is Not a Novel," readers meet an author, called only Writer, who is
weary unto death of making up stories, and yet is determined to seduce the reade
r into turning pages and getting somewhere. "Vanishing Point" introduces us to A
uthor, who sets out to transform shoeboxes crammed with note cards into a novel.
In The Last Novel, we find an elderly author (referred to only as Novelist ) wh
o announces that, since this will be his final effort, he possesses carte blanch
e to do anything he damn well pleases.
United by their focus on the trials, ca
lamities, absurdities and even tragedies of the creative life, these novels demo
nstrate David Markson s extraordinary intellectual richnessleaving readers, time
after time, with the most indisputably original of reading experiences.
