A novel entirely of questions
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Padgett Powell's new book "The Interrogative Mood" begins with some questions.
"Are your emotions pure? Are your nerves adjustable? How do you stand in relation to the potato? Should it still be Constantinople?"
The questions continue. In fact they never stop for 164 pages. Every sentence in "The Interrogative Mood" is a question.
Saul Bellow once described Padgett Powell as one of the best young American writers. But Powell hasn't published in almost a decade.
Padgett Powell says his new book is a novel. But he told Euan Kerr it grew out of irksome emails he received from a particular administrator at the Floridian University where he directs a writing program
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.