Abish, Walter. How German Is It. 1979.

This novel, because it is well-written, with interesting characters, great descriptions, and a few wonderful scenes and ideas, is probably the most frustrating thing I've ever read. Essentially, I am disappointed that the plot answered none of the questions it raised. The book moved through four cities, introducing new characters with great regularity, but here are a few of the things it left me wondering..: Would Ulrich ever again meet his wife Paula whom he still loved? What was the nature of their terrorist activities? Who set the bombs (three of them, I think)? Who were the men with the rifles? Had the architect tried to get his brother shot? Who was the woman with the false name? What was the deal with Franz? What was Franz's relationship to Ulrich's father: were they both part of the resistance? Were any of the suspected Nazis really Nazis? Who were the bodies in the mass grave? Who had tried to run over the main character (twice?) with the yellow car? Who was writing him the threatening letters? What about Anna's meeting with Paula? Why bring up Franz's brother in Argentina? Did the man in the tower blow up the bridge? Why? Did Ulrich ever finish his novel about Marie? If so, when?

I could go on, but that's enough to make my point clear.

THERE WAS NO EARLY WARNING THAT NONE OF THE PLOTS WOULD BE RESOLVED. I had to finish the book to be disappointed by it.

Even if this is a postmodern experiment in lack-of-closure, I'd have to call it a failure in that the lack of closure is not interesting. Except for the strange italicized asides, which signaled that the narrative had an atypical dimension, there was no indication that the book wouldn't follow through on its implied promise of revealing its plot. Instead, all we really learn is who was sleeping with whom: the details of the character's bourgeois promiscuity. Like in the film Brazil, the terrorist bombings only served to create a vague backdrop of social unrest. The details of this unrest, which we have every right to be curious about, are never revealed.

I'm not going to read Eclipse Fever unless somebody gives me a really good reason.