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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson Hardback - 2005

by Jonathan Coe

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Reader reviews for Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson

From the publisher

The most critically acclaimed literary biography published in the UK in 2004, Like a Fiery Elephant tells the story of B.S. Johnson, one of Britain's most innovative, passionate, and controversial writers of the 1960s and 70s. Johnson was an unflinching advocate for the avant-garde in both literature and film, and held strong (some would say extreme) views on the future of the novel. Working firmly in the tradition of Joyce and Beckett-the latter of whom became a friend and mentor of sorts to Johnson-he tormented his agents, editors, and publishers with innovations that included a book with holes cut throught the pages (Albert Angelo) and a novel published in a box so that its unbound chapters could be read in any order (The Unfortunates). Johnson committed suicide in 1973, at the age of forty.

The story of Johnson's life is fascinating enough-but what makes this biography truly extraordinary (even for those who have never heard of Johnson) is the intelligence and honesty that Jonathan Coe brings to the form itself. Coe is a novelist, not a biographer, and he enjoys telling stories. How, then, to write the biography of his one-time hero, whose whole career as a novelist was based around the belief that "telling stories is telling lies?"

The result is a brilliant, funny, and deeply moving book about what it means to be a writer, and about what it means to stick to your principles so doggedly that you end up with nowhere left to turn.

Read the Introduction

Details

  • Title Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson
  • Author Jonathan Coe
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition 1st Edition
  • Pages 496
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Bloomsbury Academic, NY
  • Publication date May 15, 2005
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780826417350 / 0826417353
  • Weight 1.91 lbs (0.87 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.26 x 6.4 x 1.38 in (23.52 x 16.26 x 3.51 cm)
  • Category Biography / Autobiography
  • Library of Congress subjects Novelists, English - 20th century, Experimental fiction, English - History and
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2005003277
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

About the author

Jonathan Coe is one of Britain's finest contemporary novelists. He is most well-known for What A Carve Up! (published in the US as The Winshaw Legacy), The House of Sleep, and The Rotters' Club. His seventh novel, The Closed Circle, will be published by Knopf in May 2005.

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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson

by Coe, Jonathan

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780826417350 / 0826417353
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Like A Fiery Elephant: The Story Of B. S. Johnson

Like A Fiery Elephant: The Story Of B. S. Johnson

by Coe, Jonathan

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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson

by Jonathan Coe

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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson

by Coe, Jonathan

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  • Hardback
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Bloomsbury, 2005-05-15. First Edition. hardcover. Used: Good. 6.36x1.36x9.27. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson

by Coe, Jonathan

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
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Good
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Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780826417350 / 0826417353
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hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson
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Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson

by Coe, Jonathan

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  • Hardback
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Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780826417350 / 0826417353
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Bloomsbury Academic, 2005-05-15. Hardcover. New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!
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