{"product_id":"the-eater-of-darkness-paperback","title":"The Eater of Darkness - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert M. Coates\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eMathilde Roza\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by), \u003cb\u003eMathilde Roza\u003c\/b\u003e (Notes by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConsidered by many to be one of the most unique, avant-garde works published by the Lost Generation, \u003ci\u003eThe Eater of Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e is hailed as the first Dada novel published by an American. Previously out of print for more than fifty years, this new edition has been updated with a new introduction and contemporary material that pays homage to the groundbreaking life and career of author Robert M. Coates.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"One of the cleverest tours de force ever contrived by the pen of a wit.\"\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYoung, charming, and fresh from a passionate jaunt in France, Charles Dograr leaves behind his French lover and returns to America to spend a year in New York City. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEager to make his year in New York one to remember, Charles leaves his boarding house room one night in search of an adventure. As he wanders, Charles stumbles into the living quarters of Picrolas, an eccentric, crazed scientist who refers to himself as \"the Eater of Darkness.\" Picrolas reveals his prized invention: a remote-control x-ray machine, designed to electrocute and kill at random by shooting \"x-ray bullets\" into the brains of Picrolas' intended targets. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTricked by Picrolas into releasing the trigger, Charles is instantly taken by the machine and the power it holds. After a string of murders ensue, Charles agrees to help Picrolas plot an elaborate bank heist, using the x-ray bullets to kill the bank's guards and any unlucky witnesses that happen to be on the street during the heist. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs the city is terrorized by these mysterious murders, Charles becomes entangled in the fallout. Characters disappear and reappear; events spiral in a disorienting, antirealistic fashion; and genres collide in an unpredictable, dreamlike conclusion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Often compared to Flann O'Brien's \u003ci\u003eThe Third Policeman\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Eater of Darkness \u003c\/i\u003eis many things: both an acclaimed crime novel and a study in surrealist fiction; an experimentation of style, structure, and syntax; and an innovative, avant-garde concoction from an author who wrote years ahead of his time.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobert Myron Coates was born in 1897 in New Haven, Connecticut. As a member of The Lost Generation, Coates spent much of the 1920s in Europe, where he wrote his first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Eater of Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e. While living in Paris, Coates brushed shoulders with other literary giants, including Malcolm Cowley, Ford Madox Ford, and Ernest Hemingway (with whom he boxed as a sparring partner). It was his special relationship with Gertrude Stein, however, that helped his first novel find international success. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile abroad, Coates developed his celebrated experimental style with short stories and sketches he published in the expatriate magazines \u003ci\u003eGargoyle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBroom\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSecession\u003c\/i\u003e. After the publication of \u003ci\u003eThe Eater of Darkness\u003c\/i\u003e, however, he returned to the United States and began work for the newly established \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, for which he worked as a contributor and an art critic for more than 40 years. It is from these contributions that he is credited with coining the term \"abstract expressionism\" in reference to the works of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Koonig. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePrior to his retirement in 1967, Coates published four more novels, including \u003ci\u003eWisteria Cottage \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eYesterday's Burdens\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as countless works of short stories and nonfiction. Known early in his career for experimental fiction, Coates is considered by many as a pioneer of contemporary literary science fiction, and to this day, his novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Eater of Darkness, \u003c\/i\u003e remains a cult classic among fans of dadaist and early twentieth century science fiction. His art criticism for The New Yorker was definitional and influential for three decades in the post World War II modernist era. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMathilde Roza is Associate Professor of American Literature and North American Studies at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She is the author of the critical biography \u003ci\u003eFollowing Strangers: The Life and Works of Robert M. Coates\u003c\/i\u003e (South Carolina University Press, 2011), which was based on extensive archival research. She has published on American modernism, \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, and a variety of other topics.\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.63 x 5.43 x 7.87 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 19, 2021\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51768311644448,"sku":"9781947951235","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/796b0856f068c57cd2718ec7d872a363.webp?v=1780326797","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-eater-of-darkness-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}