Ernest Vincent Wright

Gadsby Ernest Vincent Wright

Written from the perspective of a self-deprecating narrator, 'Gadsby' is - at its core - a tale of a town in a state of concerted rebirth. In an effort to reverse the plight of the place that he calls home, the protagonist organizes the town's youth. In doing so, we watch as the small piece of suburbia becomes a shining beacon of what towns can - and perhaps should - be. Once established, we are led through a series of years, ever bearing witness to the idealism of the organized youth, and the results of their labors. While not a particularly compelling story, the reverence for this work of narrative art is not diminished. What makes this book notable is the ridiculously difficult challenge in crafting that it presents, and the time, effort, and passion it must have taken to give rise to such a thing. It is an overt, Quixotic flaunting against the word 'impossible'.