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''The Runaway Soul'', published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1991, first edition ISBN 978-0-374-25286-1, Library of Congress catalog card number 91-75885, is the long-awaited first novel by Harold Brodkey. It represents either part of all of the work that Brodkey labored over for more than a quarter century, and which had originally been announced as ''A Party of Animals''. The plot of the novel concerns Brodkey's autobiographical character, Wiley Silenowicz, whose fate closely parallels the author's own childhood in St. Louis in the 1930s. Stylistically, the novel attempts to render sensation into language, following the style of Brodkey's celebrated ''New Yorker'' stories. In terms of material, much of ''The Runaway Soul'' was drawn from Brodkey's second collection of short stories, ''Stories in an Almost Classical Mode'', which in turn was made of Brodkey's entire story output during the period 1963 to 1988. The reviews of ''The Runaway Soul'' were mixed, and some quite negative. ''Time magazine's'' review on publication was lukewarm at best, ending with the observation, "()ne of the earliest (headings ) says volumes about the volume to follow. It is titled 'The Masturbation'."〔Time, November 25, 1991〕 ''Newsweek's'' reviewer, while also damning it with faint praise, ended the review by stating. "''The Runaway Soul'' is absolutely the last book you want to say this about, but it could have used a rewrite."〔Newsweek, November 18, 1991.〕 In ''The New Criterion'', Bruce Bawer called the book "one of the literary fiascos of all time."〔http://www.brucebawer.com/big&bad5.jpg〕It did, however, receive a long, favorable review by D.M. Thomas.〔New York Times, November 10, 1991〕 ==References to ''The Runaway Soul'' in popular culture== * In Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, a copy of the book can be seen on (Allen) Gabe and (Farrow) Judy's coffee table. * On several episodes of Season 3 of Californication (TV series), the jacketless spine of the novel can be spotted on a book-cart in the university office of the show's Hank Moody. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Runaway Soul」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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