Flats

by Rudolph Wurlitzer

Rudolph FIRST First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped. Published by Dutton, 1970. Octavo. Hardcover. Book is very good. Dust jacket is very good with shelf/edgewear. Seller 333257 Literature

Genres: Fiction, Novels

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

The great-grandson of the man who founded the famous music company published his first novel, Nog in 1969. For most of the seventies Wurlitzer worked in Hollywood, writing screenplays. His 1971 play 2 Lane Blacktop was filmed by maverick producer Monte Hellman, starring Warren Oates with singer James Taylor and Beach Boy Dennis Wilson. In 1973 he wrote the screenplay for Sam Peckinpah's Western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, starring Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan.

Reviews

[Dan]

people after the apocalypse seem really weird and sleepy.
can't wait.

Memphis, Omaha, Halifax, Witchita, Duluth, Houston, Portland, Mobile

[Paul]

An interesting exercise in the mundane. Is it a dream, is it post apocalyptic - are the characters even real. Interesting if only for something completely different.

[Dave]

This is not an easy read. Once I realized that the novel has a post-apocalyptic setting, I was able to let go of the lack of plot, narrative unfolding, any sense of space and time, along with the ambiguity of the narrator. What is left is the language, and it is quite remarkable, although very difficult to describe. It is almost impossible to figure out what is happening and who, if anyone, are characters (in he end I think that there may be only a single character).
The novel seems to be a rendering of a peculiar kind of consciousness, devoid of human emotion, although anxiety may be an important element.
All I know is that I had to read it a bit at a time, and I was making the effort for the sheer pleasure of the language which was puzzling, incongruous, but full of surprises.

[Eugene]

derived from and yet both more terminal and minimal than beckett. and--biggest strike against it--not as funny.

but/and just to say it: great font underneath the dustjacket on the hardcover.

[Edward Rathke]

Three stars is a neutral score from me because I think I need to read this again. Actually, I know I do.

Withholding proper judgement until that time, assuming it comes.

[Brandon]

Post-apocalyptic, but unlike any other in the genre. Kind of expands upon his work in Nog with identity as a main theme. Characters named after cities, with the main character making short and sporadic journeys while becoming new versions of himself(?). Each character seems concerned with random objects. Short sentences, switching between first and third person, and dream-like dialogue make for a very interesting, sometimes tiresome read.

[Zach Werbalowsky]

3.5 and very odd. Ion know whats goin on

[Lexington Starr]

Did not finish it! Not even close. And it's such a small book. I wish I could say that it held my interest long enough to finish it but I can't.

[Nog]

Sort of like a sequel to NOG, but with even less happening. Like something that Beckett could have written had he access to LSD and was having a bad day. A real slog, unfortunately.

[Manny Torres]

Only Wurlitzer could write an end of the world book and make it read like Beckett on acid. It takes a great writer to pull that off and not sound like bullshit. Something happens. Nothing happens.

[Leper]

Good book if you want to know how it feels to talk to a homeless person for an hour.

[Chris Shaffer]

Anyone interested in the work of Wurlitzer should read Gary Indiana's essay from his recent collection Utopia's Debris. It sheds a little light on this novel, which, if you actually managed to read the whole thing, is quite helpful.

Oh, and I learned that you should always be thankful for a little bit of ginger ale, even if it's not ginger ale.