If Aaron were asked to make a top 10 list of his all-time favorite novels, William Gaddis’ The Recognitions would find a spot somewhere in the top 5. This 900+ page masterwork of the beginnings of the post-modern movement spoke to a college-age Aaron in ways that are often hard to articulate. A work that examines the relationship between the artist and his final product, the complicated reasons that the creative can be inspired, and the oft-tumultuous connections between fathers and sons, The Recognitions is a difficult novel that challenges readers with unattributed dialogue, murky character motivation, and long-winded sentences that often have double meaning.
As stated, Aaron adores this novel. Rodney fucking hates it.