Wednesday, 10 April 2024

The Party by Donald Barthelme

Who invited Mr. gorilla to the party?

You've gone too far this time, Donald. I'm usually down for your unique brand of post-modernist surrealism but unfortunately, it just came across as nonsensical tomfoolery. Granted, this was your intention here, to present an unreality through shattered glass, but it just wasn't an enjoyable reading experience for me. 

Perhaps a closer reading of the text would reveal the nuances regarding representation within a fictional reality, consumerism, mass media, advertising, pop-culture (one of the dinner guests is dressed up as King Kong), simulacrum, desocialization, the failure of language or the loss of communication in our contemporary existence. There's a lot happening underneath the the surface here but the problem is wading through the thick layers of absurd confusion. 


You can read this story HERE.

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