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154th out of 196 books
—
236 voters
Mickelsson's Ghosts
by
John Gardner
An American novel �Gardner's final masterwork. � about a philosophy professor's messed up life.
Paperback, 590 pages
Published
May 14th 1989
by Vintage
(first published 1982)
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It's odd to learn here at GR that Gardner is out of print and so neglected. Move after move, edit after edit, box after bag of donated books, my tiny stand of Gardner hardbacks endures, waiting for me to go back as i was so sure i would. Apparently i still expect to - and given the porous nature of my weary brain, they will in many ways be new books to me - except i will already know i love and trust the author nearly as much as he loves and trusts his characters.
I like moody, emotionally contemplative, lots of talk/little action books. This affection sometimes includes an interest in the derisively named "chick lit" or the occasional Oprah book. There is some notion that this kind of fiction is not well-written or worthwhile. So when I came across Gardner's novel I thought maybe I could get the same satisfaction as I do from some of my genre lit while also being able to claim I had read "literature."
So the two things that elevate this book to the litera...more
So the two things that elevate this book to the litera...more
2 likes · like · see review
I read this book as a teen, and I re-read it a few years ago. Certainly my second reading was more comprehensive, and having studied philosophy as a quasi-minor in undergrad, I understood so much more of the setting and characters (in fact I think I had a philosophy prof who could have been a character in this book). But I do still remember the eerie feeling I had reading this book for the first time, the feeling of sliding into a madman's world and no longer remembering exactly what is consider...more
Haunting--get it?--novel that documents a university philosophy professor's dissolution and descent into possible madness and his subsequent redemption. Loaded with philosophical allusions, as well as instructive information for the do-it-yourself home renovator.
A weighty tome with supernatural leitmotif that is hard to put down, yet is best read slowly and digested in the same manner.
A weighty tome with supernatural leitmotif that is hard to put down, yet is best read slowly and digested in the same manner.
1 like · like · see review
As I take a refreshing, deep breath after closing this long and deeply detailed novel, I must admit that not since I read the great tale of the murderer Raskolnikov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's infamous main character from his great book, Crime and Punishment have I savored such a delicious and thoroughly absorbing story. Richly written and fully comprehensive in its scope and thesis, Mickelsson's Ghosts firmly grabs the reader from the outset and doesn't ever let go.
Be warned!, however: John Gardner's...more
Be warned!, however: John Gardner's...more
This is a wonderful book, beautifully written. The story is philosophical, sad, funny, suspenseful. John Gardner really captures the spirit of the rural PA/NY setting as well as the politics of academia. A middle aged philosophy professor buys an old house in the country and sets out to renovate it, gets involved with a small town prostitute (or is she a prostitute?), falls in love with a colleague, and is stalked by Mormons and befriended by ghosts. Between events he ponders philosophical issue...more
This book is definitely a reader's book, or maybe a writer's book? I'm never really sure what the difference is, but either way it's a tome that really pushes you to focus on what you're reading as there are quite a few heavy philosophical arguments and references within the novel, and it pushes you to question what is and isn't real with the protagonist acknowledging that he's had previous stints in a mental institution and the varying 'ghosts' to which the title refers.
I bought this book in 20...more
I bought this book in 20...more
This is one of those books that I honestly have a hard time putting in any catergory and that includes whether I really love it, or just appreciate it.
It's the type of thing one reads and is confused not b/c he doesn't get it-but that he actually does.
It's a long, long work-bogged down in some spots by very in-depth and somewhat esoteric philosphical dicussions (the main character is a philosphy teacher afterall)...and I'd be less than forthcoming if I didn't tell you at many many spots I was te...more
It's the type of thing one reads and is confused not b/c he doesn't get it-but that he actually does.
It's a long, long work-bogged down in some spots by very in-depth and somewhat esoteric philosphical dicussions (the main character is a philosphy teacher afterall)...and I'd be less than forthcoming if I didn't tell you at many many spots I was te...more
Jun 19, 2007
Luke
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who can find it
This book is out of print. Which is a pity. I've read most of Gardner's works, and I'd place this as his second best piece. (I argue that Nickel Mountain is the best, with Grendel a distant third, but I digress.) The story is fairly simple, Mickelsson's nearly bankrupt, divorced, and on the outside looking in at the university where he teaches philosophy, and he buys a house that's haunted. What follows is Gardner's strongest story.
The writing, as usual, has flawless rhythm, and there is emotio...more
The writing, as usual, has flawless rhythm, and there is emotio...more
I could easily imagine myself sitting in class in college, discussing this book in terms of symbolism, literary motifs/messages, etc. These days, I'm really more interested in books that entertain me, that don't require a lot of analysis and deep thought to "appreciate".
With this book - I did enjoy the story line and the characters. But there was a lot of philosophizing and rambling about deeper meanings in life that I eventually started skimming over. Just not my thing right now.
With this book - I did enjoy the story line and the characters. But there was a lot of philosophizing and rambling about deeper meanings in life that I eventually started skimming over. Just not my thing right now.
i love to read books (and see movies) about writers...so i have to add this one. I think it's gardner's best. I found the book somewhere, like a thrift store?, and as usual it was just something about the design and the title that attracted me. The hardcover is better designed, but I do prefer reading hardcover anyway. In a funny way this is a great book to go along with Ron Mclarty's book which i just finished, art in america, also about a writer.
This is a good one. A big pomo book with plenty of meat on the bone. Washed up, gin soaked, ageing philosophy professor Mickelsson tries to climb his way out of debt/responsibility/a failed marriage by buying an old house in the picturesque Pennsylvania countryside. Turns out the house has a pretty horrible history. Mickelsson's fall is the main concern here as he's hounded by everyone around him from department heads, his ex-wife, the IRS, Mormons, needy students, prostitutes, Nietzsche, biker...more
If I were living in Dickensian London and my only distractions were Dickens, hookers and the occasional debilitating flu, I think I could probably finish this book. As it stands, however, this is my third effort at a Gardner book and my third failure.
There is nothing here to prevent me from recommending it other than the fact that it seems to me that the book is wildly too broad. As in, overwritten. As in, just could use to some old-fashioned scissoring.
It's well-written, yes--but every seco...more
There is nothing here to prevent me from recommending it other than the fact that it seems to me that the book is wildly too broad. As in, overwritten. As in, just could use to some old-fashioned scissoring.
It's well-written, yes--but every seco...more
This was a strange, strange book. I wasn't sure, all the way through, whether I was "getting" it. The main character is not at all attractive, and his mental health is slipping. I never felt like I wanted to enter Micklesson's world.
I picked up the book because I had so loved John Gardner's writing about the process of writing. I decided that he's a better thinker about writing that writer! That may be unfair, I realize.
I picked up the book because I had so loved John Gardner's writing about the process of writing. I decided that he's a better thinker about writing that writer! That may be unfair, I realize.
Although a bit dark- putting it mildly, perhaps- I loved this book. I found it intriguing, and love Gardner's style. A very good book to read on a cold and snowy winter's day!
I loved this book when I first read it (in the early 90's?). Now, not as much. Maybe I am too close in age to the protagonist??
Anyway, still an interesting read.
Anyway, still an interesting read.
Beautifully written, with wonderfully complex, quirky and well-drawn characters. I found myself wishing I had paid better attention in my Intro to Philosophy class 25+ years ago, however, as Gardner's frequent and extended philosophical musings became ponderous for me.
John Gardner is an incredible writer. Beautiful descriptions of the area around Susquehanna, Pennsylvania--a place I'm familiar with. Gardner captures the psychological downward spiral of Peter Mickelsson, a well-renowned philosophy professor, after his divorce and his purchase of a supposedly haunted farmhouse in the Pennsylvania countryside.
I'm going to read this one again; slower next time.
It was a little hard getting into this book,but I enjoyed it eventually. It's about a philosophy professor who is very self-destructive and dissolute at SUNY-Binghamton. The "ghosts" are part of his psychology.
Jun 13, 2009
Carol
is currently reading it
This wasn't so good. And I really wanted to like it, because I respect John Gardner's writing on fiction so much... I will try another of his books sometime soon.
not on par with "Grendel" or "October Light" but great characterization and highly imaginative
I shouldn't really say "read"...I couldn't finish it. UGH!! 'nuf said.
My 4th read and its as challenging as ever.
This is a wonderful wonderful book.
A ghost story like no other.
Oct 14, 2012
Stephanie
added it
unreadable
May 18, 2013
Sara
marked it as to-read
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John Champlin Gardner was a well-known and controversial American novelist and university professor, best known for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth.
Gardner was born in Batavia, New York. His father was a lay preacher and dairy farmer, and his mother taught English at a local school. Both parents were fond of Shakespeare and often recited literature together. As a child, Gardner...more
More about John Gardner...
Gardner was born in Batavia, New York. His father was a lay preacher and dairy farmer, and his mother taught English at a local school. Both parents were fond of Shakespeare and often recited literature together. As a child, Gardner...more
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“He could forget all these people, just like that, become fond again of strangers and leave them too.”
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2 people liked it
“He was saner than anyone --had fallen out of the world of illusion: love, interesting work, hope for the future.”
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1 person liked it
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