June 12th, 2010 / 3:37 am
Uncategorized

BROOKLYN BOY MAKES GOOD

Like a sermon described in the novel, the language in “Witz” is “scripted to sound,” designed to capture the verbal distortions of East Coast speech. We hear of “Mortal Beach” and “Soygens General.” But while the scale of the sentences comfortably exceeds the lung capacity of most readers (Cohen isn’t afraid to unfurl a five-page sentence), the prose constantly highlights language’s sonar qualities: “At lot’s edge, last scattered lungs of leaves still hang from the boughs, breathe uneasy.” Cohen’s senten­ces are fluid, living things: “This lulling, ship’s loll, . . . a remnant, a reminder of the darkness, . . . and, flying across that sky a fish lands on the deck, at the forecastle, the fallen castle.”

Read the full review. And kudos, l’chaim, and cheers.

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27 Comments

  1. zusya17

      that is one trotsky-lookin’ dude. i need to read this book now.

  2. Morningstar

      I ordered Witz nearly two weeks ago and am still waiting for it. I’m dying here.

  3. Ken Baumann

      Bought Witz yesterday. Excited for it.

  4. zzzzzipp

      THIS WAS IT–NOT THE REVIEW, BUT YOUR LINK, JUSTIN TAYLOR. YOU FINALLY MADE ZZZZZIPP DO IT. I HAVE ORDERED WITZ.

  5. zzzzzipp

      BRIDGE & TUNNEL WAS REALLY GOOD

      IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME I GUESS

  6. jonny ross

      not someone who usually goes for “five page sentences” and all that other big book excess, but what the hell — i’m in.

  7. rk

      witz is a word forest. really glad to see Cohen’s getting all this great pub. books like this need to be read.

  8. Morningstar

      I ordered Witz nearly two weeks ago and am still waiting for it. I’m dying here.

  9. Ken Baumann

      Bought Witz yesterday. Excited for it.

  10. zzzzzipp

      THIS WAS IT–NOT THE REVIEW, BUT YOUR LINK, JUSTIN TAYLOR. YOU FINALLY MADE ZZZZZIPP DO IT. I HAVE ORDERED WITZ.

  11. zzzzzipp

      BRIDGE & TUNNEL WAS REALLY GOOD

      IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME I GUESS

  12. jesusangelgarcia

      “a brave and artful attempt to explore and explode the limits of the sentence” — that’s beautiful.

  13. jonny ross

      not someone who usually goes for “five page sentences” and all that other big book excess, but what the hell — i’m in.

  14. scott mcclanahan

      Great review.

  15. rk

      witz is a word forest. really glad to see Cohen’s getting all this great pub. books like this need to be read.

  16. Andy Linkner

      I’m 150 pgs. into Witz, reading it sporadically because the density of those sentences can be exhausting, but I’m enjoying it more and more. The extremely slow pace of the plot avoids the usual loss of continuity in reading so intermittently.

  17. jesusangelgarcia

      “a brave and artful attempt to explore and explode the limits of the sentence” — that’s beautiful.

  18. alan

      This is a nice appreciation, best I have seen yet.

  19. scott mcclanahan

      Great review.

  20. Andy Linkner

      I’m 150 pgs. into Witz, reading it sporadically because the density of those sentences can be exhausting, but I’m enjoying it more and more. The extremely slow pace of the plot avoids the usual loss of continuity in reading so intermittently.

  21. alan

      This is a nice appreciation, best I have seen yet.

  22. Schulyer Prinz

      “Stephen Burn’s latest book is “Jonathan Franzen at the End of Postmodernism.” He teaches at Northern Michigan University.”
      that is terrifying…

  23. Schulyer Prinz

      “Stephen Burn’s latest book is “Jonathan Franzen at the End of Postmodernism.” He teaches at Northern Michigan University.”
      that is terrifying…

  24. Shelly

      What kind of crazy book is this??? Do writers really HAVE to indulge their egos at the expense of the reader??

      Not for me!

  25. Steven Augustine

      I like it when writers push. This seems nicely pushy.

  26. Shelly

      What kind of crazy book is this??? Do writers really HAVE to indulge their egos at the expense of the reader??

      Not for me!

  27. Steven Augustine

      I like it when writers push. This seems nicely pushy.