The Benefactor A Novel

by Sontag, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780312420123
• ISBN10: 0312420129
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-01
• Publisher: Picador

Summary

The Benefactor, Susan Sontag's first book and first novel, originally published in 1963, introduced a unique writer to the world. In the form of a memoir by a latter-day Candide named Hippolyte, The Benefactor leads us on a kind of psychic Grand Tour, in which Hippolyte's violently imaginative dream life becomes indistinguishable from his surprising experiences in the 'real world.' Sontag's novel supplies a fascinating, knowing, acerbic portrait of a certain bohemian demimonde that flourished in France until quite recently. More important, The Benefactor is a novel about ideas-especially religious ideas-unlike any other: funny, acrobatic, disturbing, profound.

Author Biography

Susan Sontag is the author of four novels, The Benefactor, Death Kit, The Volcano Lover, and In America (winner of the 2000 National Book Award for Fiction). She has also published a collection of stories, several plays, and five works of nonfiction, among them On Photography and, most recently, Where the Stress Falls. Her books are translated into twenty-eight languages. In 2001 she was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for the body of her work.

Table of Contents

My childhood and university career. I find friends and become independent. My resolutions. On the difficulties of this narrative	1	(12)
I have a dream, the ``dream of two rooms.'' Jean-Jacques and I discuss it	13	(10)
Aftermath of the first dream. I accept a musician's hospitality. ``Dream of the unconventional party.'' I become the lover of Frau Anders	23	(14)
Third dream, ``the dream of piercing the roof of a cathedral.'' Conversation in the park with a priest. I exchange a rosary for a ball	37	(14)
I spend more time with Jean-Jacques. His ideas, his world	51	(18)
My mistress and I take a trip to the city of Arabs. We enjoy the city and I abandon her to a merchant	69	(14)
I return to the capital. ``Dream of an elderly patron.'' Professor Bulgaraux acquaints me with the doctrines of the Autogenists	83	(16)
I become an actor. Lucrezia: another friendship. Later news of Frau Anders. On the proper narration of dreams	99	(20)
A visit from an unhappy husband. The good intentions of Monique. Frau Anders returns to claim a new life. Fifth dream, ``the dream of the piano lesson:'' A crime	119	(22)
Crime without punishment. I tell Jean-Jacques about the chess player. I visit with my father. The happiness of Monique. The resurrection of Frau Anders	141	(22)
I build a house for Frau Anders. A proposal	163	(18)
``The dream of the mirror.'' I return to my native city and choose a wife	181	(10)
My marriage. Frau Anders in hiding. A fairy-tale and some anecdotes illustrating proper self-love	191	(16)
My wife falls ill. A visit from Jean-Jacques and an act of violence. Professor Bulgaraux speaks at my wife's funeral. My grief	207	(12)
A duel with Jean-Jacques. A dream inventory, and a nightmare, ``the dream in the Arena.'' I move into Frau Anders' house	219	(20)
There are many styles of Silence. ``The puppet dream.'' Some aphorisms. A robbery and other arduous disciplines. Either I leave the house to Frau Anders, or she reappears after twenty years. In the latter case, I am evicted	239	(20)
On the distribution of handicaps. A distressing rumor. An excerpt from my notebooks. On being old. On the difficulties of concluding this narrative	259

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Rewards Program

Currently unavailable