The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr
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The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr together with a fragmentary Biography of Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler on Random Sheets of Waste Paper is a complex satirical novel by Prussian Romantic-era author E.T.A. Hoffmann. It was first published in 1819-1821 as Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern, in two volumes. A planned third volume was never completed.[1] It was Hoffmann's final novel and is considered his masterpiece. It reflected his concepts of aesthetics, and predated post-modern literary techniques in its unusual structure. Critic Alex Ross writes of the novel, "If the phantasmagoric 'Kater Murr' were published tomorrow as the work of a young Brooklyn hipster, it might be hailed as a tour de force of postmodern fiction."[2]
An English translation by Anthea Bell was published in 1999 by Penguin Classics.
Jeffrey Ford described the novel as a "complex, truly wild fiction" where Hoffman "pieced together the fragments of his own shattered psyche and commented on the relationship of art and artists to society."[3]
References
- ^ Hoffmeister, Gerhart (2006-10-15). Kater Murr. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Ross, Alex (2009-08-24). "Imaginary Concerts: The Music of Fictional Composers". The New Yorker: 72.
- ^ "Curiosities, F&SF, April 1999
External links
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