Masters of Atlantis
by Charles Portis
published
2000
by Overlook TP
edit
binding
Paperback, 272 pages
isbn
1585670219
(isbn13: 9781585670215)
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 135)
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
Ahhh… another Portis read. Finding an old booklet filled with wisdom from the legendary city of Atlantis (or just a drunk sod’s incoherent scribblings) the movement of Gnomonism was born and flourished, then floundered, and fell flat in America.
Reminded me of my civics class back in the 7th grade. Coach Ledet, clipboard breaking football coach and teacher of civics taught us about the freedom we enjoyed in Amer...more
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
Ahhh… another Portis read. Finding an old booklet filled with wisdom from the legendary city of Atlantis (or just a drunk sod’s incoherent scribblings) the movement of Gnomonism was born and flourished, then floundered, and fell flat in America.
Reminded me of my civics class back in the 7th grade. Coach Ledet, clipboard breaking football coach and teacher of civics taught us about the freedom we enjoyed in Amer...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2004
On the surface, this is Charles Portis' most purely comic novel. The characters are a little more broadly drawn than in his other books. Their flights of fancy, on subjects like the "wave of foppery" sweeping the USA or the wild men of Chicago, are some of the most memorable and repeatedly funny passages Portis has written. But if one really examines the actuality of these characters and their fervent belief in their passions, (in this book, it's a steadily crumbling Shriner-like broth...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2002
recommended to David by:
Tommy Nosewiczrecommends it for: Cool people.
The novel doesn't have a lot of action, and it isn't laugh-out-loud funny. It's consistenly amusing the whole way, though, and Portis shows in a very entertaining way how absurd secret societies like this one are. At the same time, though, he's not unkind, and the ending is so sweet, absurd, tragic, and, at the same time, uplifting, that I didn't know exactly what to feel, but I felt it a lot. It's an ending I'll never forget, and certainly one of my favorites of all time.
Link to Full Review...more
Link to Full Review...more
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in September, 2008
He's one of my favorite, quirkiest, southern authors and I think he hits the peak of his comic powers here. Masters of Atlantis is a spoof on Freemasonry with funny jabs at lawyers, politicians, Southerners, and left-wing politics thrown in for good measure. At the center of the action is the grand Master, Lamar Jimmerson, a soft-headed recluse, but his first-in-command Austin Popper, a dipsomaniac drifter given to exaggeration and turns of phrase, is the real star of the book.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommended to Charlaralotte by:
Brother Ben
Charles Portis is one funky dude. This book was a wonderful farce. Kinda slowed down in the middle section during the Chicago decay, but the beginning and the ending are precious. Really precious. I bet Portis thought of himself as completely off his rocker. I bet he laughed inappropriately at the strangest things. I bet I would have gotten along with him really well.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I love Charles Portis! This book is such a great look at eccentric characters whose lives are devoted to and absorbed by the most arcane and trivial nonsense that you can't help but love them. If you've ever wondered why men joined lodges or get involved with the elaborate and ridiculous rituals and codes of secret clubs, this is the book for you.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
A brilliantly executed sendup of gullible idiots and ruthless if feckless confidence men. One of the funniest books I've ever read. If rosicrucians, numerologists, trisectors, astrologers, pyramiders and other humbuggers amuses or perplexes you, you need to read this book. All of Portis' books are worth reading, but this is his best.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
pro-cultists, con-cultists
Charles Portis is a wiseass. An affable, plushtoyish, wiseass. Regard the smirk throughout this novel. See how the smirk is neither vicious nor unkind. A caring smirk, then. A warm, wet kiss of a smirk. The whole novel, soup to nuts, is a long and lingering (teddy)bear hug of wiseassery and good, old-fangled fun.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
anyone in a lodge
This is one of the funniest books I have ever read, a dead perfect parody of Freemasonry and other lodge-based secret societies. You don't have to be a Mason to appreciate Portis's wit and fantastic writing, though. This is one that I keep trying to get others to read. It's fantastic!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1986
A stitch! Lamar Jimmerson and Sidney Hen's epic journey into the occult Mid-West I've reread three times and I am not one to reread. This was the book I was anticipating after The Dog of the South and it didn't disappoint.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1998
Funny and sweet and full of life. I was riding my bike around Key West and a first edition of this caught my eye. It was $2 and I gave it to my friend Johnny. My copy is still being "borrowed" after three years by Benzler. Help!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2001
Makes one feel foolish for ever believing in anything ever, and yet still fun to read. ?????? (Greg shakes his puny fist at Portis while yelling his name threateningly.)
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I'm re-reading this book. I read it in 20th Century Lit. in college. I'm about a quarter of the way through and I have to say, it's just as good as I remember.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2005
HA HA HA HA HA.
Perhaps the funniest book I have ever read. It is hard to pin down how Portis makes you laugh, but he does it in so many ways. A masterpiece.
Perhaps the funniest book I have ever read. It is hard to pin down how Portis makes you laugh, but he does it in so many ways. A masterpiece.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
One of those books with a fascinating premise but seemed to wander without incident, then ending. I learned that there's a place called "Indiana."
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Imagine the Freemasons mixed with Nation of Islam, tossed with liberally seasonings of Arkansas wit and you've got one hell of a novel.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2003
Got me reading Charles Portis, whom I now consider to be one of the undiscovered cult authors of the 60s.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Something of a disappointment as I looooove Portis, but even his worst is better than most authors' best.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This is a great oddball novel, a classic of American Weird. I need to find a copy and re-read it.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
