Castaway

by James Gould Cozzens

Book Overview

In this short novel Mr. Cozzens has constructed a modern parable of the Robinson Crusoe tale, one with powerful implications for the survival of modern man. Beyond doubt an interesting and distinguished piece of work. --Times Literary Supplement

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151159971
• ISBN13: 9780151159970
• Release Date: October 1967
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Homer Simpson Meets Lovecraft and Pynchon?

This is a marvelous masterpiece of fiction, wherein a Homer Simpson-like modern man seems to have somehow survived a world-wide catastrophe and is trapped inside a huge department store beyond which there is the unaccessable unknown. The irony is that this modern-day Robinson Crusoe is so ill-equipped for survival that he finds it extremely difficult even in the lap of luxury to procure for himself. He is forced to face his primordial primitive savage self as he teeters on the edge of insanity, or does he? Not only is it an exceptional work of post-modernist speculative fiction, it's a horror story too. J. Lyon Layden The Other Side of Yore

the book

This book is exceptional. I'm not going to analize it or pretend to know anymore than the author, but it is simply the greatest book I have ever read. When you read how the sentences and thoughts are arranged you will understand why this man won the Pulitzer. This novel isn't just a fable, or story, it's a work of art. Also, it's terribly entertaining, unlike some other pretentous works by "important" authors. If you can read the English language, you probably will enjoy this novel. Short, Scary, Suspenseful. This is the only book since I began reading twenty-five years ago, that I have read twice back-to-back. Did I mention that it's a good book?

..[castaway]..

..Castaway is an incredible work of fiction. I'd go so far as to say it's on par with Lord Of The Flies. It deals with man's savagery and how primal instincts are masked behind technological advancements. ...TURN OFF THE TOM HANKS MOVIE AND READ THIS BOOK!!!

Daniel Defoe meets Stephen King

Castaway proves why James Gould Cozzens deserves a much higher place in the American literary pantheon. (He had no use for the New York critics, so they in turn had no use for him.) Castaway is a novella about a man adrift in a mammoth department store as the only survivor of an unspecified catastrophe. But is he really alone? You'll be puzzled, frightened, amused, and repulsed by what happens to Mr. Lecky as he struggles to survive in the store. Is his Man Friday real, or simply the product of a mind run amok? This work would be ideal material for any high school English course -- the only thing that dates it is the comprehensive store, now unknown in most cities