Spoiled Distinctions

"Spoiled Distinctions is a sparkling work of criticism that illuminates the intriguing constellation of Proust, Sarraute, Ponge and Reza, drawing our attention to the role of the ordinary, the botched and the inarticulate in the work of these writers. Freed-Thall writes crisply, demonstrating an eye for nuance and detail of the very sort that characterizes the writers she so revealingly explores." --Adam Watt, author of Marcel Proust "Spoiled Distinctions is an engaging, beautifully written, convincingly argued, and original study of aesthetic disorientation in French modernism. Freed-Thall has a gift for pithy and striking formulations that encapsulate arguments, and stay with the reader." --Alison James, author of Constraining Chance: Georges Perec and the Oulipo "Spoiled Distinctions is in fact a book of remarkable freshness. With delighted, near-obsessive attention to detail and a sophisticated awareness of historical milieu, Hannah Freed-Thall explores the surfaces of works by Marcel Proust, Francis Ponge, Nathalie Sarraute, and Yasmina Reza. She brings the worlds of these great modernists into our presence and shows us how the value of their work is built upon the creation of new terms of valuing." --Susan Stewart, author of The Poet's Freedom: A Notebook on Making "This is an exceptional book about the unexceptional, the botched, the flawed, and the imperfect. Original and illuminating, the volume considers French modernism and its fascination with the thoroughly unremarkable: everyday incidents and encounters, modest means of enjoyment, and commonplace objects like coffee-table statuettes, glasses of tap water, spots, and soap...Summing Up: Essential." --CHOICE "..indispensable..." Zakir Paul, Critical Inquiry