The unauthorised biography of ezra maas
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Book Review: The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James
Our reviewer delves into the ‘complicated’ and ‘compelling’ work The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas, the debut novel from Newcastle based writer Daniel James.
Postmodernism is notoriously difficult to define. After spending nearly seven years in the academy, I listened to dozens of the country’s smartest people explain this slippery concept, and, in their own unique ways, every one of them failed. Maybe it’s because so much of postmodern theory is predicated on the absence of things; namely, the absence of stable referents like nature and god and history that underpinned previous epochs. So no wonder my tutors failed. After all, how do you describe something that isn’t there? How do you speak about silence? Well, as far as Daniel James is concerned, you write a debut-novel called The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas. You start with the words “This bo
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The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas
It began with a phone call in the dead of night.
It is impossible to discount the possibility that some of what you are about to read may contain fiction.
"You know that line ‘the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist’? Well, inom think Ezra Maas’s greatest trick was convincing the world he did."
Some stories are more dangerous than others, and true stories are the most dangerous of all.
This book is dangerous. You need to know that before you begin
The famously reclusive artist Ezra Maas was believed to have been born in Britain on 1 January , but first made his artistic reputation (but, deliberately, not his public fame) in the New York pop art scene of the late s. A man of many talents, even more legends amongst his cult-like följare, and multiple personalities:
the romantic artist, the withdrawn recluse, the violent, temperamental geni
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In late I reviewed the original edition of The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas, summing it up as &#;An astonishing, mind-bending creation that defies the limitations of cliched description&#;. It was a remarkable literary achievement and went on to be shortlisted for a national book prize. Then it disappeared from my radar. This happens. inom did not, at the time, suspect any involvement from the Maas Foundation. Now I&#;m not so sure.
When reading any biography there is always an element of doubt over what fryst vatten truth and what is fiction. Whoever writes a history controls the narrative. The telling of any &#;true&#; story will säga as much about author as subject &#; it can never include everything and will rarely be balanced.
This book blurs boundaries. It tells a convoluted yet compelling tale that overlaps events and characters across multiple locations and decades. There are numerous cross references and hidden messages. Key pieces of information have been