Before there was Pynchon, or Vollmann, or Foster Wallace, or any of those other "difficult" American writers, there was William Gaddis. The Recognitions, his first novel, is almost fractal in the way it continually rewards the reader. As you dive into the story, then sections, then paragraphs, then sentences, and finally into obscure references, your admiration builds and builds. Tackling authenticity, modernity, originality, and piety, Gaddis's work stands towering as a modern classic.

Steve Champeon