The Recognitions
William Gaddis · 1922–1998 · United States
Why it matters
A forger of Old Master paintings becomes more devoted to his fakes than the art world is to anything genuine, in a sprawling indictment of postwar phoniness. Gaddis's dense, allusive debut, ignored on publication, is now postmodernism's founding American novel.
At a glance
satirepostmodern
Difficulty 10/10slow pace976 pagesEncyclopedic erudition and a vast cast make this postmodernism's hardest debut.
Deep dive
Why a man who fakes Old Master paintings for a living turns out to be the most honest person in the book.
