Arcadio

by William Goyen

Book Overview

Completed while he was dying, William Goyen's Arcadio is one of the most affecting and imaginative farewells to life ever written. Arcadio, whose voice is inimitably Goyenesque, is a creature from beyond the normal walks of life. Half man, half woman, raised in a whorehouse and for years the veteran exhibitionist in an itinerant circus sideshow, he has escaped from the show and has been wandering in a quest for his lost family. Speaking intimately...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517550539
• ISBN13: 9780517550533
• Release Date: November 1983
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

I didn't read this book.

But it came up when I searched for the term "family circus." Is the author a ruffiano?

William Goyen's Arcadio is worth the challenge it provides.

Texas writer William Goyen's last novel, _Arcadio_, a first-person account of a hermaphrodite's swan song, provides readers with a challenge every bit worth the effort. If one has read other Goyen (House of Breath, stories from Had I a Hundred Mouths), then _Arcadio_ will satisfy the curiosity about how Goyen's fiction "ended." If one has never read a Goyen work, then this will surely inspire.The novel tells the story of Arcadio, a freak by anyone's (including his own) standards; Goyen explores boundaries of sexuality, ethnicity, and language in the tale as Arcadio tells his story of existing in a world that categorizes people. It is tragic comedy or a comic tragedy, depending on the reader's viewpoint. Goyen displays his talents as a student of human nature and his art with capturing authentic language. Arcadio's broken English (Spanglish), stream-of-consciousness style, aids readers in entering his tormented mind.This book is for anyone who wants a good, but compelling read.Trivia fact: Goyen's widow is Emmy-award-winning actress Doris Roberts (of Everybody Loves Raymond fame).