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46th out of 133 books
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Lost in the Funhouse
by
John Barth
Barth's lively, highly original collection of short pieces is a major landmark of experimental fiction. Though many of the stories gathered here were published separately, there are several themes common to them all, giving them new meaning in the context of this collection.
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
March 1st 1988
by Anchor
(first published 1968)
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Lost in the Funhouse was my true gateway drug into the vein of postmodernism. Since reading this and many other of Barth's fiction, I've fallen completely for metafictive postmodernities and their like.
This book is sort of loosely linked stories. Several characters, such as Ambrose of "Lost in the Funhouse" reappear throughout the collection, but largely, this is an experiment in both fictional structure as well as interpretive form. Several stories were written with int...more
This book is sort of loosely linked stories. Several characters, such as Ambrose of "Lost in the Funhouse" reappear throughout the collection, but largely, this is an experiment in both fictional structure as well as interpretive form. Several stories were written with int...more
Check out what I wrote in my blog: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com/2011... Very good, very entertaining. I loved each and every story. I will look up more books by this author if there are any. :-) 08-08-2011: I have finished the third story. It says in the foreword that this story must be read aloud in order to have any sense, and the author was absolutely right. The inmense imagination of this author leaves me speechless. He created a character that does not have body or face. The only t...more
This book is very well crafted, deep, interesting, and original. I felt that the editor was asleep for a few points of misspelling or repetition that didn't seem to belong, couldn't have been part of Barth's mission. That or I was oblivious to some deeper meaning in imperfection.
That's the sort of book it is. When I reread it those errors will either make sense or confirm my suspicions. They didn't detract wholly from the text, though. The short pieces in this book are for the most p...more
That's the sort of book it is. When I reread it those errors will either make sense or confirm my suspicions. They didn't detract wholly from the text, though. The short pieces in this book are for the most p...more
This book is without a doubt very clever and well-written. I tend to read "genre" books, but I'm branching out by reading a number of American literature pieces. This collection of short stories is one of the pieces I picked (by recommendation of an iTunesU course).
Most of the stories are related to one another. One of my favorites is the first: "Night-Sea Journey". At first glance it seems to be the story of a fish, but reading it again, you'll find it is about ...more
Most of the stories are related to one another. One of my favorites is the first: "Night-Sea Journey". At first glance it seems to be the story of a fish, but reading it again, you'll find it is about ...more
Nathan Forget
added it
Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth is a collection of short stories, originally published in the late sixties. The stories are interconnected insofar as they deal with similar themes. They could best be described as meta-stories or stories about stories. There is a story about a writer speculating that he might really be a character in a story. Another is told from the point of view of the story itself. In this way, Barth is showing a series of stories as they might be seen in a funhouse mirror—...more
This collection, I think, pretty much takes up where Borges left off as far as the early postmodern experimentation in short fiction goes. What I like about Lost in the Funhouse: the frank sincerity with which Barth regards his audience, the earnest attention he divides between a story and the idea(s) behind it, and, most of all, his puns. Yep, his puns. I'm a pun lovin' kind of reader (judge from that will you will about my value as a person in general), and Barth serves 'em up with all the fre...more
A lot of "Lost in the Funhouse" is more clever than actually entertaining. Were I to describe one of the stories, and the postmodern tricks found therein, it'd probably sound very interesting, but actually reading it is another matter. That said, there's a lot of good stuff in here; my favourite was "Anonymiad," the story of a minstrel who is left by Agamemnon to watch over Clytemnestra, on the look out for infidelities. The minstrel is banished to a small island, where he...more
Bookended (almost) with two rather exceptional stories, "Ambrose His Mark" and "Anonymiad", with an absolute knockout in the middle, John Barth's Lost in the Funhouse astonishes and disappoints in almost equal measure. When he's on, as in the aforementioned stories, he's almost unbeatable, and when he's not on (almost every other story in the collection), he's almost unbearable.
The postmodern bent to most of the stories contained here largely works against the aut...more
The postmodern bent to most of the stories contained here largely works against the aut...more
If I were reviewing only the first half of this book, I’d give it five stars, but the second half is really flat (maybe intentionally so). Several of the later stories deal with Greek mythology, but feel self-indulgent. Very little in the way of emotion or plot. Who knows? Maybe I’ve been spoiled reading more recent mythic-reinventions like Autobiography of Red or Everything Ravaged Everything Burned. For whatever reason, I found myself skimming past Menelaus and his wooden wants and needs, etc....more
1/3 of the stories in this collection are excellent. 1/3 of the stories in this collection are passable or interesting. 1/3 of the stories in this collection are annoying as all hell.
Example: "Lost in the Funhouse" is excellent. We have a meta-fictive story about Ambrose, our recurring character throughout this collection of stories. In it, he and his family go to a funhouse, where Ambrose (so closely tied to the narrator that he might as well be, if he's not already) gets ...more
Example: "Lost in the Funhouse" is excellent. We have a meta-fictive story about Ambrose, our recurring character throughout this collection of stories. In it, he and his family go to a funhouse, where Ambrose (so closely tied to the narrator that he might as well be, if he's not already) gets ...more
A first-rate collection of short stories. I picked it up because the title piece was one that inspired David Foster Wallace to begin writing, and it's marvelous. Barth's self-conscious "see what I'm doing? / what am I doing?" postmodern style can occasionally intrude upon otherwise enthralling tales, but it also makes for an entirely masterful piece, "Title." His prose is powerful on every page; I understand why DFW and Gass revere him. Below is a paragraph from the actua...more
I picked to read this after having finished Donald Barthelme's challenging The Dead Father which may not have been the best idea as Barth's collection was also mind bending and challenging at times. I can't say there were any stories that I was disappointed with, but Barth is certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea as you have to be free of distraction and concentrate on what is happening throughout. I think two or three of the stories were as fine as any I've read, if for no other rea...more
Disappointing! This "landmark" in experimental fiction was stuffed with endless exercises in indulgence, vague and rambling stories, pretentious non-sequiturs and assorted Greek gibberish.
The title piece, "Title" and "Petition" were the only engaging and amusing stories here. Most of the collection indulges in Barth's obsession with Victorian writing and Greek myth. "Night-Sea Journey," "Meneliad" and "Anonymiad" are insuffe...more
The title piece, "Title" and "Petition" were the only engaging and amusing stories here. Most of the collection indulges in Barth's obsession with Victorian writing and Greek myth. "Night-Sea Journey," "Meneliad" and "Anonymiad" are insuffe...more
An author-recommended book that turned out to be a real disappointment. Barth rambles on in short story form about how hard a time he's having writing anything intelligible (hence, "Lost In the Funhouse"). There are two intriguing short stories in the midst of this mess, but otherwise it's just egotistical and arrogant stream-of-consciousness whining circa the mid 1960's. At multiple times throughout the second half of the book, he asks the reader why they're still reading, then plac...more
I read this over a span of several weeks, really. When I saw that the title page had "Fiction for print, live tape, and voice," I was intrigued and had to go find out what that meant. There are instructions by the author of which stories should be read out loud and which ones should have come recorded onto tape, of course none of them are. So the first thing I did was read the out loud ones out loud, which was a blast.
Then I got into the character of Ambrose, who appears...more
Then I got into the character of Ambrose, who appears...more
If you need a book that defines "post-modern" this is up there with The Things They Carried as a perfect example. It is both mind expanding and touching at the same time."Night-Sea Journey", "Petition", "Lost in the Funhouse", and "Title" are when Barth is at his best, dealing with the problems of being an outsider, misunderstood, and without someone to love in a more genuine way than i have ever seen an author do. The books weak point can be see...more
John Barth is hit and miss for me, although he is mostly a hit. Sort of like juggling with bowling balls -- it's like, okay, I see what you are doing -- I'm impressed -- and I might be able to do that if I tried for awhile, but I'm not going to, thank you. Once you figure out essentially what Barth is doing, his writing is incredibly enjoyable. Lost in the Funhouse is Barth at his best. His humor is on point and the fact that he makes the reader work a bit means more appreciation, and much payof...more
Suman
added it
A series of short-story experiments breaking conventions of the novel. At its best (the eponymous Lost in the Funhouse, Echo, and Anonymiad), the stories made my mind work in the same way as it would if I were solving a puzzle. At its worst, the stories did not engage my mind at all and I felt that everything went over my head. I should reread those stories, though, to figure out whether I actually liked them.
If you don't mind frustration, possibly failure, and some hard thinking for...more
If you don't mind frustration, possibly failure, and some hard thinking for...more
Barth is such a lyrical writer, especially compared to most of the brooding postmodernist set. Just look at the opening story, "Night-Sea Journey." Gorgeous in its imagery, rich with philosophical inquiry, it's worthy of Calvino.
And Barth doesn't limit himself, he gracefully steps from style to style, going from that to weird biographies to formal experiments to lyrical, haunting childhood tales. Above all, the whole thing is a big, long mash note in love with the writin...more
And Barth doesn't limit himself, he gracefully steps from style to style, going from that to weird biographies to formal experiments to lyrical, haunting childhood tales. Above all, the whole thing is a big, long mash note in love with the writin...more
Stories about stories and storytelling, sometimes clever and transcendent ("Lost in the Funhouse"), sometimes clever and irritating ("Life-story"). That seems to be meta-fiction's forked path: Robert Coover and Jorge Luis Borges open up infinite possibilities by examining the paradoxical ephemeral and eternal fate of their chosen art; Donald Barthelme devours himself. Barth goes in both directions here, so the jury's still out -- to be honest, I decided to just float on the b...more
Barth’s Lost in the Funhouse is a crazy journey of life as a writer through parodies and formulaic writings. Barth enjoys playing with words, hoping the reader will become lost in his writings in trying to find the meaning of them. The series of stories starts with conception and ends with death, continuing again from the beginning. This is clear with his challenge to craft his words, once upon a time…, word play. He uses formulaic patterns to control his words and the outcomes of the stories, a...more
This is metafiction written by a professor of English. Most of the stories explore a concept, or maybe conceit (example: what if an autobiography was written by an autobiography?). Familarity with Greek mythology (Homer at least) is a prereq.
It starts out weak (I hated 'Ambrose His Mark'), rapidly becomes memorable, then finally, shockingly tough going. There are enough moments of inspiring dazzlement to make it worthwhile though.
The standout story for me is 'Lost in the ...more
It starts out weak (I hated 'Ambrose His Mark'), rapidly becomes memorable, then finally, shockingly tough going. There are enough moments of inspiring dazzlement to make it worthwhile though.
The standout story for me is 'Lost in the ...more
Only about half of the stories here grabbed me, but the ones that did were so good that I'm really glad I read them all. It was well worth it. The better half is represented by "Night-Sea Journey", "Ambrose His Mark", "Water-Message", "Petition", "Lost in the Funhouse", "Life-Story", "Menelaiad", and "Anonymiad".
You might say that I liked more than half the book, because all the stories I listed above w...more
You might say that I liked more than half the book, because all the stories I listed above w...more
This collection was saved from the dreaded one star rating by the three Ambrose tales, which taken on their own account would have earned my highest regards, but can't completely save this dreadful foray into lifeless meta-fiction and postmodernism.
"Night-Sea Journey" is a petty cosmology from a fish's point of view, not a story at all, more of a Philosophy 101 writing experiment. Which is fine for Phil 101, but not for Barth.
"Ambrose His Mark" shows ...more
"Night-Sea Journey" is a petty cosmology from a fish's point of view, not a story at all, more of a Philosophy 101 writing experiment. Which is fine for Phil 101, but not for Barth.
"Ambrose His Mark" shows ...more
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Five stars? As proof, I recommend "Menelaiad." If this collection had nothing else to offer, that story would be enough-- in some ways a tale tailor-made for me.
Yes, Barth is more concerned at times with showing the seams than in telling the story, to the point that the first half of the book reads (between the lines) almost as a primer on the writing workshop, but that is not to say that his postmodernisms are there without purpose. "Title," particularly, may ra...more
Yes, Barth is more concerned at times with showing the seams than in telling the story, to the point that the first half of the book reads (between the lines) almost as a primer on the writing workshop, but that is not to say that his postmodernisms are there without purpose. "Title," particularly, may ra...more
Barth is one of the great modern authors--one of the saving graces of our so-called post-modern era--that gives me hope in the future of true literature. I was getting books out of storage today and ran across my Barth collection and had to add them. His short story "Ambrose His Mark" comes to mind so often, even though it's been probably a decade since I read it last. The opening sentence is as memorable (for me) as any in literature...
"For whom is the funhouse fun? ...more
"For whom is the funhouse fun? ...more
I picked up this collection of short stories, because it was referenced in a David Foster Wallace novella (Westward the Course of Empire Takes it's Way) that I massively enjoyed. The influence of Barth on DFW is readily apparent and "Lost in the Funhouse" is a carnival ride of a book. Full of self-reflexion, mobius strips, and retold Greek myths. The stories are fairly readable if you're not concerned with things like plot and/or plot resolution (a trick DFW handily usurped). But the i...more
In all, I found Barth's Ambrose-centered stories beautifully written, rich with description, and quite... well, touching really. Then, there is his more experimental "metafiction," which is occasionally enjoyable on a philosophical level but sometimes goes over my head with its mythological references, etc. To tell you the truth though, the title story in this collection masterfully balances an analysis of the artifice of story-telling and an actual story, giving the reader a healthy...more
The first "story" in this collection is a set of instructions for building a Moebius strip, suggesting that fiction is something to be read topologically. Don't worry; this sounds less and less like bullshit as you read more of the stories, assuming that you're willing to play these games in the first place. The real stunner of the book, the story that most vividly puts this idea to the test, is "Menelaiad," which tells the story of Menelaus recounting the story of him and ...more
Invigorating stories, especially the title story. Ive always thought Barth writes best when his metafictional whizz-bang is tempered with actual emotion, as in his earlier novels (The Floating Opera, &c.) or stories like "9999". When he plays with Greek myth, however (and perhaps this speaks more to my complete lack of mythological fluency; my English teachers never forced me to read Homer, so I never did), it always reads stale. Any readers who share this prejudice, skip the last two ...more
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"John Simmons Barth (born May 27, 1930) is an American novelist and short-story writer, known for the postmodernist and metafictive quality of his work.
John Barth was born in Cambridge, Maryland, and briefly studied "Elementary Theory and Advanced Orchestration" at Juilliard before attending Johns Hopkins University, receiving a B.A. in 1951 and an M.A. in 1952 (for whic...more
More about John Barth...
John Barth was born in Cambridge, Maryland, and briefly studied "Elementary Theory and Advanced Orchestration" at Juilliard before attending Johns Hopkins University, receiving a B.A. in 1951 and an M.A. in 1952 (for whic...more
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“Somewhere in the world there was a young woman with such splendid understanding that she'd see him entire, like a poem or story, and find his words so valuable after all that when he confessed his apprehensions she would explain why they were in fact the very things that made him precious to her...and to Western Civilization! There was no such girl, the simple truth being.”
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“He wishes he had never entered the funhouse. But he has. Then he wishes he were dead. But he's not. Therefore he will construct funhouses for others and be their secret operator -- though he would rather be among the lovers for whom funhouses are designed.”
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