Tuesday, October 14, 2014

The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell

Would you be drawn to a book that had a picture of a man wrestling with a question mark on the cover? Have you ever read a novel written entirely in the form of questions? How do you think you would feel reading a book written entirely in this form? Would you read this sort of novel quicker or slower than a regular novel? Do you think you would try to answer each question in the text before moving on to the next one? Do you think you would enjoy a novel that includes the following extract?

Are you a sweater person? Do you suppose it's the case that damming some rivers is not an ecological hazard but damning others is? So you picture the days of the week on a calendar in your mind?

Do you think that in a book written entirely as questions that some of the questions would seem rather tortuous and meandering? Would you read them anyway? Do you think reading this kind of novel would annoy you or stimulate your mind?

Do you think I might be recommending this book to you?

The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell, published by Profile Books