This Is Not a Novel and Other Novels

Markson's reputation—as a "writer's writer," as an experimentalist who favors Zen koan titles—might scare off casual readers, but if you look into one of his novels (or in the case of this newly reprinted volume, three novels in one), you'll see it's more like opening up a box of chocolates. His late novels, these included, are composed almost entirely of short notes about writers, artists, and others ("At least two people were drowned in the Seine because of the crush along the route of Victor Hugo's funeral") that accumulate into an indirect but strangely compelling story that each reader likely approaches in her own way. (Me, I read them with an Internet window open so I can find out more about the most intriguing stories.)